Circuit Cellar Ink 214
May 2008

Table of Contents

4


CJ Abate

HTML Task Manager

DIY Measurement AndSensing Projects

8


John Gorsky

New Product News

15


David Tweed

HTML Test Your EQ

16


Gerhard Oberforcher

Depth Measurement

Construct An Ultrasonic Snow Depth Sensor

Gerhard used the sonar components from an autofocus camera, a Microchip PIC18F452 microcontroller, and several off-the-shelf parts to construct an ultrasonic snow depth sensor system.The low-power design provides accurate snow depth measurements and is easy to integrate into other weather station systems.

Download: Oberforcher-214.zip

30


CJ Abate

HTML 2007 WIZnet iEthernet Design Contest

Winners Announcement

The WIZnet iEthernet Design Contest 2007 gave engineers throughout the embedded design community a chance to join the Ethernet revolution while competing for a share of $15,000 in cash prizes and international recognition. Designers from around the world quickly stepped up to the challenge by incorporating WIZnet's W5100 hardwired TCP/IP Ethernet controller in innovative embedded projects. Within weeks of the contest launch, designers began submitting their exciting, next-generation, Ethernet-enabled embedded systems. After spending many long days and nights closely studying the entries and judging them on their technical merit, originality, usefulness, cost-effectiveness, and design optimization, the judges presented their scores to the contest administrator. The results are now final, and we're proud to announce the winners.

34


Miguel Rusch

Where Analog And Digital Collide

An Easy-To-Use LCR Meter

Miguel's portable LCR meter makes it easy to analyze the analog performance of virtually any device under test, whether in the lab or on the job. The dsPIC30F4012-based meter uses DDS techniques and DSP methods to condition the resulting voltage and current signals. Its handy user interface and graphic LCD make it easy to operate and read.

Download: Rusch-214.zip

41


Steve Lubbers

Electronic Data Logging And Analysis

A How-To Guide For Building A Seizure-Monitoring System

Steve's electronic monitoring system enables pet owners and vets to monitor the patterns of epileptic seizures in dogs. The real-time, ATmega32-based system logs the number of seizures and measures the time between them.

Download: Lubbers-214.zip

52


David Lynch

Embedded Linux Development

Part 2: Create An Embedded Development Environment

David finishes describing his coLinux cross-development platform that runs on Windows. You can create an embedded development environment with him on coLinux or other versions of Linux.

60


Wolfgang Matthes

Advanced Technology Attachment I/O

Use ATA Interfaces For General-Purpose I/O Applications

Using modern PC interfaces for connecting application-specific hardware can create a wide range of problems for embedded designers (e.g., slow communication and long latencies). In this article, Wolfgang describes a viable alternative: an ATA interface. Employing ATA as the low-latency embedded interface allows you to apply miniaturized motherboards instead of typical industrial platforms, which are considerably more expensive.

Download: Matthes-214.zip

From the Bench

70


Jeff Bachiochi

Control Circuitry

Advances in video game technologies and controllers are changing the ways we interact with gaming consoles. If you don't want to buy expensive power pads and controllers, you can follow Jeff's lead and build your own controllers with much of the same circuitry.

Download: Bachiochi-214.zip

Silicon Update

76


Tom Cantrell

Designer's Best Friend

The roots of Altera's MAX II go back about 30 years to the programmable array logic (PAL) device. This month, Tom covers the history of programmable logic chips and introduces you to MAX II technology. Say hello to his little friend.

Lessons from the Trenches

83


George Martin

Making Changes

A Look Into The C Compiler

Guess what happened after George recently made a few simple changes to a product for a customer and then recompiled the code? Compiler errors! In this column, he describes how he addressed the problem.

Download: Martain-214.zip

93

Crossword Puzzle

94

Advertiser's Index / June Preview

96


Steve Ciarcia

HTML Priority Interrupt

Who Said Variety Is Good?

FTP Directory for INK 214
Follow this link to order a copy of INK 214

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