You've heard of Crazy John? Well I'm Perfect Peter. I was given that label by A Current Affair (ACA) a rather poor current affairs program on Australian TV. They called me that simply because I tried to hold my local council to account. Obviously implying that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Well I don't hear my customers complaining ... as I believe in both 'value for money' and 'good service'. I personally evaluate and test all products (periodically) that are offered here and if they don't measure up, we refuse to sell them! Equally, we will test most products before they are shipped. Because, I know, there is nothing worse than receiving a product that doesn't work! AND, if a screwdriver (for opening the battery compartment) or batteries are needed - we include them! So much for that TV advertisement that says "Why are batteries never included?" In fact, with some products we include an extra set of batteries and, at the moment, even if batteries are not needed we include a FREE sample of Varta alkaline batteries.

Hi, I'm Peter King the founder and manager of Procon Technology. I'm a qualified engineer with special qualifications in computer control. My interests are; electronics, computing, industrial control, PLC (Programmable Logic Control) and, of course, fischertechnik. Since starting business in 1984, Procon Technology has evolved from a specialized consulting business to a manufacturer of interface products and a distributor of robotic kits from fischertechnik. Now we also offer a range of unique products that represent value-for-money such as the Oregon Scientific weather stations and the Rezap battery charger. All of these items have been personally tested and are recommended by me. I take great pride in receiving positive feed-back from my customers. To see their comments - Click here.

SORRY! All stock of the RR1050 universal remote has been returned to the importer. A fault with the backlight on this unit means that they are unacceptable to Procon Technology. I was hoping that the importer would withdraw them from sale and replace them with new 'working' units but unfortunately they seem to think that "most customers won't notice (this defect)". We are currently looking around for a unit and a supplier that we can trust! It is becoming increasingly frustrating that CHINESE MADE PRODUCTS have such variablity in quality. When they work they often work well and represent good value for money, BUT we have had instances where the entire shipment is 'unacceptable' in quality and have returned them. I recommend that all customers do the same - DON'T PUT UP WITH INFERIOR CHINESE (PRC) PRODUCTS! Where possible we avoid 'no-name' brand products and prefer to purchase products from Japanese, Taiwanese, Singaporean or Malaysian companies.

I Like: GOOD QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT WORK!, Wii tennis, bike riding, rollerblading, skiing, fischertechnik, solving puzzles on computer, mathematics.

I Dislike: FAULTY PRODUCTS, waiting in queues, bank fees, speed cameras, poor service, unsafe building sites.

My favourite music? I've been listening to The Dixie Chicks and Pink lately. But my favourite singer was: Hayley Westenra - a classical(?) singer with a breath-taking voice. If you simply liked Anthony Callea's 'The Prayer', you'll love Hayley Westenra's 'Amazing Grace'. If you love 'Les Misérables' you'll love her rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' (sung when she was only 15) on her 'Live from New Zealand' DVD. Yes, she's from New Zealand and began her singing career on stage in musicals as a child and busking in the streets! Also sings the Maori favourite 'Pokarekare Ana' - her video of this song (also on the DVD) is just spectacular. Click here to find out more and listen to clips of her songs and videos. I've given Hayley's 'Pure' CD to a friend in Singapore and he's caught the bug - it's called 'Hayleyitis'. He's wife tells me he's listened to it every night for weeks!

Other music favourites? Ronan Keating originally from Boyzone. If you haven't heard Ronan's songs from Boyzone, I suggest you grab a copy of 'Boyzone...by request'. Favourite style of music - Australian NEW country music. Check out the Country Music Association of Australia website and the compilation CDs of the winners of the CMMA Country Music Awards of Australia (Golden Guitar Awards). My favourite country singers are: Melinda Schneider (The story of my life) and Sara Storer (Buffalo Bill).

My favourite musical? Les Misérables. The live performance is best, but the DVD is good if you're a real fan like me! Note, the DVD is a concert with a few clips from the theatre performance only. Also you will find that the Australian DVD (region 4) is NOT double sided like the US version - if you get the single sided disk you'll find the special features missing and all of the speeches missing at the end of the 10th anniversary concert performance! To understand the story behind Les Miserables, I recommend the French series starring Gerard Depardieu, which is 6 hours long and was shown on Australian television by the SBS network.

My favourite books? I'm really into DVDs at the moment but (believe it or not) the last book I read was 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. Now I can finally understand what my daughter has been talking about all these years and can finally understand the Harry Potter movies! I have also re-read 'The Joy Luck Club' by Amy Tan. I got the Cambridge University Press version when I was in Singapore (it's used as a school text). This version provides lots of explainations and some illustrations to assist you in understanding this Chinese-American story. Finished reading 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown. Everyone loves a good mystery story - with two related parallel stories and suspense at the end of every chapter. Also with lots of factual information and lots of puzzles and some mathematics. p.s. check out Kjartan Poskitt's book (below) for an explanation of the 'Fibonacci Sequence' and the 'Golden Ratio' or 'Divine Proportion' as it is called in Dan Brown's book. Just read 'Wild Swans' by Jung Chang again. For an easy read and for children, try: 'Chinese Cinderella' by Adeline Yen Mah. The adult version is called 'Falling Leaves'. I liked reading: 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' by Bill Bryson - this is 'Horrible Science' for adults - so good I couldn't put it down. Also like: 'The curious incident of the dog in the night time' by Mark Haddon. A great book for kids and an easy read for adults. Only one problem - it's too short! Also read: 'Japan at War' by H & T Cook. An interesting account of the 1937-1945 war from the Japanese perspective (i.e. numerous first hand experiences).

My favorite special interest book? Numbers - the key to the universe by Kjartan Poskitt. This is a kids book but adults will like it also if you're interested in mathematics like me! Why don't you check out my new maths tricks and tips page?

My favourite movie? 'Lord of the Rings'. Unlike most other people I like 'The Fellowship of the Ring' better than 'The Two Towers' and 'Return of the King'. However, like many people, I've had the books for years but never read them! The biggest tear jerker movie ever: 'The Joy Luck Club'. The funniest movie ever: ??? (still thinking about that one).

My favourite TV program? 'Mythbusters' - the highest rating program on SBS TV. Best Australian series - 'The Surgeon'. I also like the American series 'House' and 'Numb3rs'. In 2004 - 'Seven Wonders of the Industrial World'. Most popular series on the Australian ABC that year. Favourite TV comedy: 'Fawlty Towers'. Just watched this on DVD and it still makes me laugh! Australian comedy? 'Kath and Kim' were the only thing that came close ... but a bit too childish for me! "Look at moee ..." If I hear that again, I'll scream!

My favourite radio stations? Stereo 97.4 on the FM band, currently playing a lot of country music but normally they play a wide variety of popular music between 9am and 6pm (Melbourne time) with very few advertisements and no smut! Also LightFM 89.9 is a Christian radio station and has, as they say - "good friends, great music and a message of hope". Note, these are community radio stations with low power output (their range is limited). Stereo 97.4 is located in the West of Melbourne and is difficult to receive in the East (extend your antenna and switch to mono) but you should be able to receive it in as far away as Geelong, whilst 89.9 LightFM is in the East of Melbourne but you should be able to receive it all over Melbourne.

My favourite website? Mine, of course: www.procontechnology.com.au. Other than that I don't really have a favourite, although I have to say that I'm beginning to like the Google search engine more and more (for searching both international and Australian websites). To get google wherever you are on the net and to stop all those annoying pop-ups I suggest you install the google toolbar - just click here.