https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Receive our free daily newsletter:

Terry Mackenzie-Hoy

Mackenzie-Hoy is a consulting acoustics and electrical engineer – machoy@iafrica.com

Mali gold
10th February 2017 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

There has to be somebody out there who watches Gold Rush on TV. A short summary is as follows: three different crews are mining for alluvial gold in Alaska. In the programme, every tenth sentence... 


Our wonderful world
3rd February 2017 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Wonderful World Civil engineers very often ask me about electrical engineering. However, since civil engineers are pretty good listeners, absorb the following and you will know more about... 


Our brave new world
27th January 2017 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

It is I think the stuff that dreams are made of: a system is invented whereby organisations, governments and individuals can seamlessly communicate with  one another without tediously writing and... 


We should spend time with our loved ones
20th January 2017 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

A week ago, my darling, my best friend, was driving back from her mother’s house. She must have felt a slight pain in her chest and so pulled over into the parking area near Kloof Neck, which has a... 


Wishing for drug busters of yesteryear
16th December 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I grew up in the 1970s. The hippy movement started in the late 1960s, so I was well poised to be a hippy. I wasn’t one. The hippy movement was based on “drugs and sex and rock ‘n’ roll”, but most... 


Shaving the point finer and finer
9th December 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Cellphone users will have noticed that the interval between when you finish entering the number (oops – I nearly wrote 'dialling the number') and when the other phone rings is getting slightly... 


Musk and Gates geniuses? I think not
2nd December 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

The other day JP and I were chewing the fat. I mentioned to JP that Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket had gone up on the launch pad with a fearful scene of destruction. I also said that Musk was saying... 


Donald Trump’s win good for fossil fuels
25th November 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a climate change sceptic who does not believe that wind turbines are any good, thinks coal is great and wants to develop oil reserves. Unlike the Democrats,... 


African science
18th November 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

In Zambia, once a year, in early evening, you will be able to look at the moon and it forms a crescent,  with the planet Venus in the crescent – very similar to the Islamic moon and star symbol. I... 


Arguments for nuclear energy
11th November 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

When I worked for State-owned power utility Eskom, I gave up trying to explain to people how power systems work. Right now I am hard practising my ignoring skills in the debate over whether or not... 


Biometric identification is fine, but just don’t share private information
4th November 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

A growing technology is that of biometric interfaces. 'Biometrics' is just a smart way of saying "recognising the identity of a person by their fingerprints, voice or the pattern of the iris of one... 


Two tales from construction sites
28th October 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

In contrast to the gloom and doom of the economy and the political goings-on,I thought I would cheer you up with tales from two of the various sites I have worked on. Most construction sites start... 


R300bn-a-year climate change war chest could electrify all of Africa
21st October 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

The joke goes like this: a Frenchman and a German meet in a bar just after the end of the Second World War. Initially a bit wary, they start talking after a while. They have both just been... 


Interesting facts about electric fish
14th October 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I recently visited the Zambezi river, in Zambia. During my time there, dedicated to fly-fishing and drinking milk and flavoured fruit juice, I speculated on the nature of electric fish (no, there... 


Another open letter to Mmusi Maimane
7th October 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Recently, I read an article about the nuclear power deal. In the article, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane states: "Jacob Zuma’s nuclear deal will be disastrous for South Africa. It... 


Running out of memory
30th September 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Consider how much memory there would be in the form of computer storage if all storage was done on silicon chips and all the silicon in the world was used up. Of course, this could not happen... 


Breathtaking views on electricity and renewables
23rd September 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Of late, I have been reading in Engineering News and other publications of opinion on electricity and renewable energy by various people that are just breathtaking. It is interesting that these... 


The Great Wall of Trump
16th September 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

In this and future columns (well, in at least one), I will be discussing some of the electrical engineering issues coming out of the US election campaign and the promises made by the candidates.... 


Crowdfunding for fun engineering projects
9th September 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I am really not sure what crowdfunding is. Wikipedia puts it this way: “Crowdfunding (a form of crowdsourcing) is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from... 


Open letter to DA leader
2nd September 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Dear Mmusi Maimane When Creamer Media publishing editor Martin Creamer and I agreed that I would write this column, he said the column must not be smutty and it is not recommended that I write... 


Nimble operator with a gas turbine
26th August 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

In May of this year the state of South Australia closed down its last coal-fired power stations. This could happen because the state has an extensive installation of gas turbine, wind turbine and... 


It’s all very taxing for small engineering firms
19th August 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

My friend hates paying income tax. He is also one of those people who did not do well at school. Nonetheless, he has a very acute mind. When he went into business, he got into trouble with the tax... 


Reflections on technological change
12th August 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I believe that all technologies go through a cycle. Henry Ford once said: “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. But even as we read quotes from famous motor... 


Trouble in paradise
5th August 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

From the ESI Journal's July 22 edition: “South African State-owned power utility Eskom has said that it will not sign any power purchase agreements with private power producers once round 4.5 of... 


The aliens are coming
29th July 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

The other day, more than usual calls on my cellphone were being dropped. The Internet was erratic and that DStv was often on the blink. An increase in electromagnetic jamming always precedes an... 


Old school musings
22nd July 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I was born back in the day, so I’m ‘old school’. For the greater part of my school life we drove to school on roads which were not tarred. Growing up and going to school, I saw the first 6.6 kV... 


CSIR’s frightening attitude towards renewable energy
15th July 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Wikipedia says of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): "[It] is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an... 


Electrical engineering during WW2 – Part 4
8th July 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

This is the last article in this column about electrical engineering during World War II. In point of fact, this article does not discuss electrical engineering, but flying bombs. For those of you... 


Electrical engineering during WWII – Part 3
1st July 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

German and British scientists knew that radar was going to be an important component in the Second World War. However, at the beginning of the war, while both sides had developed radar systems,... 


Electrical engineering during World War II
17th June 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

In this article and a few more to come in this column, I am going to write about electrical engineering in World War II.  Okay? Good. We have all seen the film, haven’t we? The luxury liner is... 


How about analysing dog barks to better communicate with them?
10th June 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Words that we use in speech are made up of a collection of individual sounds. In theory, if one had a group of people, each of whom had a tuning fork which, when struck, would make a pure note, it... 


UPS shenanigans
3rd June 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Not long ago, I found myself in the interesting position whereby my client wanted a standby generator and an uninterrupted power system (UPS) and he wanted me to buy it and have it installed for... 


New scam has replaced old tender shenanigans
27th May 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

You heard the term 'tenderpreneur'. This is a person who submits a price to do some work against a government or quasi-government tender. The price the person submits is generally higher than... 


The Internet is doing our children an injustice
20th May 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

Many years ago, a teacher called David H was trying to describe to a science class the concept of the inverse square law. He said: “Imagine you had a butter gun and that, once the butter has been... 


Computer technology doing youngsters a major disservice
13th May 2016

The other day I phoned my friend. “How are you doing?“ I asked. “Fine,” she said, but sounded a bit strained. I asked her if she was okay. She said fine, fine. She said she was a bit distracted... 


The massive benefits of the electronic age
29th April 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

  I have an acquaintance in Cape Town who runs a business. The other day at a meeting he said something particularly rude and noticing the silence around him he said: “I am in business to make... 


The downside of renewable energy
22nd April 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I have just read an article by one Leo Smith. I do not know him. His article is called the 'Limitations of renewable energy' – and it is hard hitting.  Smith says of renewable energy: “It is... 


Corruption goes back a very long way
15th April 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

I have just finished reading a book by Admiral Lord Cochrane. I am quite sure that you have never heard of him, which is hardly surprising, since he died in 1860. The book he wrote is about his... 


Henry Ford’s sound advice for business
8th April 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

When I was young, white families in South Africa often declared themselves supporters of various brands of cars. My father thought that Ford cars were the best. Only the rich could afford... 


Working for a living Part 5
1st April 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

This is the final column in which I detail my experiences of having to work to get money for my university fees. I am writing this to show all the university students who want to go to university... 


Working for a living Part 4
25th March 2016 By: Kelvin Kemm

This is the forth column in which I detail my experiences of having to work to get money for my university fees. I am writing this to show all the university students who want to go to university... 


Working for a living Part 3
18th March 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

This is the third column in which I detail my experiences of having to work to get money for my university fees. I am writing this to show all the university students who want to go to university... 


Working for a living Part II
11th March 2016 By: Terry Mackenzie-hoy

This is the second column in which I detail my experiences of having to work to get money for my university fees. I am writing this to show all the university students who want to go to university... 


4 5 6 7 8
9
10 11 12
4 5 6 7 8
9
10 11 12

Showroom

Stewarts & Lloyds
Stewarts & Lloyds

Stewarts & Lloyds today supplies steel and tube, pipe and fittings, valves, pumps, irrigation, fencing, profiling and roofing products. The cash...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Rittal
Rittal

Rittal is a world leading provider of top-quality integrated systems for enclosures, power distribution, climate control, IT infrastructure and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Yale Lifting Solutions
Yale Lifting Solutions

Yale Lifting Solutions is a leading supplier of lifting and material handling equipment in Southern Africa. Yale offers a wide range of quality...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







pqt: 2.524s - ct: 2.94s - 428pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now