Welcome to Scott Moore's home page

Hi, I am Scott A. Moore. I live in San Jose, I am an electronics consultant. I have been working in the electronics industry for 28 years (30 if you start time from my getting paid to fix an occasional TV set). I have been using the Internet since about 1990, using time stolen from a local university back before there was such a thing as a provider.

Enjoy these pages. Tell a friend. Hack my server and put obscene pictures here. Hell, I need something to do........

The links

Here are some links:

Pascal page This is the home page for ANSI-ISO Pascal, the web page dealing with standards based Pascal.

Classic Basic games page. Before the Apple computer, we had text based Basic games only (and we liked it !). Come visit a museum of a forgotten chapter in the history of hobby computers....

HD-DVD page. Overview of High Definition DVD technologies.

My hobbies

Well, electronics started out as a hobby, but I went to work in the field. Software also was a hobby, but I went and got a job doing that as well. What's left that I have not yet destroyed ?

Flying - always my most expensive hobby. I tell people that being a crack addict is a less costly habit than flying. Anyways, I finally broke down and bought a plane. Its easy, it just takes lots of money and years of begging to get th' wife to agree.
Boating. Used to sail a lot. Now own a power boat. I don't know which has given me more scary moments, boating, or trailering that boat.
Metalwork - I took high school metal shop and loved it. Unfortunately, a full scale metal shop was pretty much out of the question in my apartment. Now, however, with a full garage to abuse, this hobby has gotten completely out of hand, and I am seeking professional help. It also supports my other various oddities, below.
Printing machines - I also took printshop in highschool. Now I am stuck with this useless avocation. Mostly it is "print on demand" stuff, except that I print and bind whole books in a small room.
Compiler design - A long time ago, when you either had a Basic interpreter or assembly language to work with, I got tired of the situation and decided to build my own compiler. When I started, I knew very little about programming, only the odd Basic and 8080 assembly language program. By the time I was done, I knew a lot. I still use my own compiler and tools, and in fact do quite a bit of research in this field (see links above).

My Home Theatre

From "Apollo 13", the launch sequence.

In the year 2000, I upgraded to a front projection system, the Sony 10HT projector, a "near HDTV" quality 16:9 aspect LCD projector. We got rid of a 30 inch TV set in this room. That's a 120" wide 16:9 screen (yes, 10 feet wide !). At this viewing distance and size, the experience is much like a movie theatre.

Here is the system with the lights on. You can see the Sony 10HT projector mounted on the ceiling (upside down).

Here is the living room with the screen rolled up. I like front projection principly because it provides amazing screen size with less net impact than even our old 30 inch TV set, and costs about the same as a high end rear projector TV. Note the center channel speaker, mounted behind the screen, and the side channels. These have wiring run though the walls.

They do make kits to motorize the screen, and lift the projector into the ceiling, but these items can easily double the cost of the system. I have plans to add some decorator touches to hide the system better, including a panel to cover the screen when rolled up, and an enclosure for the projector.

Having a home theatre has certainly changed our viewing habits. We typically only see 1-3 movies per year in theatres, down from dozens. In addition, our DVD viewing is way up. We only go to see special "event" movies in theatres. The kids play with a game console on the system.

I would say this is the future. People used to tell me that front projectors were impractical, but I notice that they are slowly gaining floor space at the local Frys (a very large electronics concern).

I personally don't have a problem with it if HDTV and front projectors kill off the theatre system. I tell people that if they want the "theatre experience", I can talk behind them during the movie, and place a board under their feet with spilled soda and candy. Just because we have been watching movies at theatres since they started being filmed, does not mean that this is the only way to watch movies, nor does it justify corporate welfare to theatre chains. All that is required is to resist the temptation to rush out and see moves because an ad tells you to, and to stop people who want to tell you the plot to every movie they have seen. Using Netflix, I typically get the cost of movies down under $1.00 per. Add the fact that we pay only once for several people, and the savings is really amazing. The only drawback to projectors is the bulb cost: typically $350 per unit.

The photo gallery

The Family

Lauren and Kelsey

Airplane

N733HZ, my 1977 Cessna 172N (Skyhawk). I have about 500 hours of flying in now.

Mount Shasta out the window. This is our favorite route to Oregon, through Redding.

Crater lake in Oregon.

My Metal Shop

Actually from a simpler, cleaner time in the shop. A 1970's Bridgeport is on the left, a 13x40 Enco lathe is at the right. Later additions are a 18" band saw and a 30" combination sheet metal unit. It all has to move ! We have a new house where I can make an even bigger mess in the garage.

The new shop is a work in progress, and has its own page here.

For more information contact: Scott A. Moore samiam@moorecad.com