The absence of a mains power outlet is often keenly felt on camping sites, with car repairs in the middle of nowhere and with picnic or party events in the countryside. In some cases, mains power can only be brought to a remote site by running a very long cable — which either dangerous, impossible or not available. Whatever the occasion, planned or unexpected, it is great to have a power inverter available capable of changing the 12-V car battery voltage into 230 volts AC.The idea for a simple, portable ‘power outlet’ was first suggested by a trainee at the Aixcom company, which is normally involved with high-tech power inverters and special high-current power supplies. The trainee, called Dirk, had been trying for quite some time to build a power inverter for his model aircraft club. In his enthusiastic attempts he ran into problems obtaining the special integrated circuit that was to form the heart of his project. When he was finally successful in obtaining the elusive chip, albeit at horrific costs, all the circuit did was produce a loud bang at switch-on, wrecking a lot of components.