Circuit Cellar Ink 118
May 2000

Table of Contents

6


Rob Walker

Task Manager

It Takes All Kinds

8


Harv Weiner

New Product News

  • RPC-2350G industrial controller from Remote Processing
  • ADPI C-Engine SBC from Analog & Digital Peripherals, Inc.

10


Val Popescu
Gary Gibson

A Reliable Network for Embedded Systems

Getting on Track

Getting a low-cost and reliable embedded network on track can be quite a chore. Val and Gary put together a system of network nodes that is not only on track, but on the track -- in a high-performance racecar! Let's take a ride with LogNet.

18


George Novacek

The Shocking Truth About EMC

Part 2: Practical Application

Having covered the principles of EMC in Part 1, this month George sets out to show us how to keep everything in mind when designing electronic equipment. If you design electronic equipment, here's a handy ounce of prevention.

28


William Beals
Russell Chadwick

Weather Data

Getting More Than One Wire's Worth

Russell and William rolled a weather station from Dallas and a Motorola 6808-based electronic interface display unit into an award-winning project in last year's design contest. And now, here's an inside look at how the project came together.

32


Robert Kondner

Buying Power

A Low-Cost Power Supply

If you've ever designed a small embedded system, only to find that the power supply costs more than the remaining components, you might want to take a closer look at Bob's project and consider rolling your own power supply.

Download: konder.ZIP

36


Jan Gray

PDF HTML, HTML Building a RISC System in an FPGA

Part 3: System-on-a-Chip Design

Now that the xr16 RISC processor is complete, it's time to tie everything together and wrap up this series. In this final part, Jan designs a demo system that includes an on-chip bus, memory controller, video controller, and peripherals.

Embedded PC

48


Harv Weiner

Nouveau PC

  • 6225 industrial SBC with Ethernet from Octagon Systems Corp.
  • CPCI-560 digital I/O for CompactPCI from Datel, Inc.

Embedded PC

50


Ingo Cyliax

Real-Time PC

Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems, Part 1: Introduction to RTEMS

Ingo sets out to explain how the RTEMS open-source licensed real-time kernel has evolved from its days at U.S. Missile Command. You just might consider using the current C version to launch your next application.

Embedded PC

54


Fred Eady

Applied PCs

Under the Covers, Part 2: Applications via NT Embedded 4.0

If last month's introduction to Windows NT Embedded 4.0 got you wondering what kind of applications are possible, you're not the only one. Fred took the advice of some readers and considered Internet device control via emWare.

60


Joe DiBartolomeo

PDF MicroSeries

Op-Amp Specification, Part 2: Getting Some Input

In Part 2 of this MicroSeries, Joe discusses specifications for input offset currents and voltages, as well as input bias current. If low-frequency and precision applications are your thing, you won't want to miss this.

68


Mike Baptiste

Embedded Living

HCS = Heating Control System?

It may be Spring now, but one cold snowy day back in January, Mike got to pondering about his new HVAC system and how to tie it into his home-control system. Soon, he had the "H", "V", and "AC" singing in harmony with his HCS.

74


Jeff Bachiochi

PDF From the Bench

Digital and Analog Output Control, Taking Route X-10

Call it quirky, call it tempermental, call it mysterious, but you certainly can't call X-10 useless. Jeff's project sheds some light on controlling outputs via X-10.

Download: ftb118.zip

78


Tom Cantrell

Silicon Update

On the Road Again, Part 1: Going Places with Silicon

This month, Tom combines two interests and taks an under-the-hood look at chips that reside under the hood. Peel back the chrome and leather and you'll see how "smart" today's cars really are.

83


David Tweed

HTML Test Your EQ

95

Advertiser's Index / June Preview

96


Steve Ciarcia

HTML, HTML Priority Interrupt

Publishing 101

Circuit Cellar Online


Daniel Mann
Jim Magro

PDF HTML Monitoring Your Micro

If you're going to keep your system running at its peak performance, it helps to be able to monitor the microprocessor. Most processors use counters to measure performance, but Daniel and Jim have a better way of gathering and analyzing performance data.

Circuit Cellar Online


Robbert Maris

PDF HTML The Ultimate 16-bit Microcontroller

Memory organization, often ignored by chip vendors, significantly affects code density and speed. This is especially important in applications that involve user interface or extensive communications. Robbert outlines a solution that may reduce controller diversity in companies, hence reducing your tool investment.

Note: Additional comments about M16C from Ali Akrouf in INK #122 Reader I/O.

Circuit Cellar Online


Priyesh Surati
David Austin

PDF HTML MPEG and DSP Integration

For their final project at the University of Calgary, Priyesh, David, and their team members wanted to demonstrate MPEG decoding on Analog Devices' SHARC 21061. Here, they share what they learned about MPEG history, MP3, and the music industry's future.

Circuit Cellar Online


Ingo Cyliax

PDF HTML Learning the Ropes -- FPGA & CPLD

Charming Adders, Implementing an Adder in an FPGA

Designing with FPGAs is similar to working with other digital components and opens the door to interesting design permutations. This month, Ingo presents how structures are implemented in FPGA logic blocks.

Circuit Cellar Online


George Martin

PDF HTML Lessons from the Trenches

The Race is On, Catching Internet Connectivity Fever

Do you want your toaster hooked up to the Internet? It may sound absurd, but people are racing to connect their households. Until now, even thinking about it was daunting, however, George discovered an easy way to get "iConnected".

Circuit Cellar Online


Tom Cantrell

PDF HTML Silicon Update Online

It's Two, Two, Two Memories in One

The quest for the best memory is endless. You know about Silicon Storage Technology's combination chips SST38 and SST30. Tom takes a closer look at SST's MCP marvel that combines flash memory and SRAM on one chip.

Circuit Cellar Online


Jeff Bachiochi

HTML Ask Us, The Engineer's Tech-Help Resource

Let us help keep your project on track or simplify your design decision. Put your tough technical questions in front of the ASK US team. In an engineering predicament? Read questions & answers from other engineers.

Circuit Cellar Online


David Tweed

What's Your Engineering Quotient?

Test Your EQ presents some basic engineering problems for you to test your engineering quotient.

Circuit Cellar Online


Bob Paddock

Resource Links

Each month Circuit Cellar's Resource Links provide helpful links and information on a variety of featured topics.

Circuit Cellar Online


Harv Weiner

New Product News

New Product submissions may be sent to Harv Weiner, 4 Park St., Vernon, CT 06066.
FTP Directory for INK 118
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