Circuit Cellar Ink 222
January 2009

Table of Contents

4 CJ Abate	HTML Task Manager New Year, New Content
8 John Gorsky	HTML New Product News M-508 application-ready Linux SBC from Artila Electronics ATAPMxx development platform for automotive products from Atmel Corp. FPGA evaluation boards for Xilinx Spartan 3 and Altera Cyclone EPIC3 from Propox Crystal Touch capacitive touch screen from Ocular, Inc. Load-n-Go and PRIME8 programmers for Microchip PICs from Custom Computer Services, Inc. Duralco 125 "Stress Free" conductive epoxy from Cotronics Corp.
12 David Tweed	HTML Test Your EQ
14 Michael Mullins	Microcontroller Clock-Locking Frequency Reference Synchronization Michael built an accurate frequency reference synchronized to a GPS clock. The frequency counter can count to 50 MHzwith 1-Hz accuracy. You can also use it to generate GPS-locked output signals as a frequency reference or as a component in a radio receiver. The device can display GPS information such as time, location, and velocity. Download: Mullins-222.zip
22 Clemens Valens	Virtual Audio Control Build a Virtual Instrument Interface The Real Virtual Instrument Interface design controls any musical instrument with a MIDI input and captures its audio output over the Internet. The streaming media device interfaces to virtual music studio software and can also simply record audio if you don't need MIDI. Download: Valens-222.zip
30 Krzysztof Klimaszewski	Digital Radio Reception Build a Longwave AM Radio Receiver Follow Krzysztof as he constructs a digital direct-conversion receiver for long waves. Tuning is controlled by a USB serial connection with a computer running terminal-emulating software. The LM3S811-based system proves you can build a radio receiver with a few discrete components. Download: Klimaszewski-222.zip
38 Sharad Sinha	Designing with FPGAs A Guide for Embedded Development FPGAs are becoming increasingly popular in embedded systems. Sharad presents several useful methods for designing a system with FPGAs. He also addresses concerns that come up during FPGA design on a complex board.
44 Steve Hendrix	Power Switching in the Real World Part 1: Basic Applications and Safety Precautions How well do you understand solid-state power switching? In the first part of this series, Steve introduces the method and provides important safety precautions. Use his tips and tricks to work safely with high-power devices.
From the Bench 50 Jeff Bachiochi	Access SD Memory Cards Part 1: Solid-State Storage Media in Embedded Apps Jeff uses SD solid-state storage media in embedded designs. In this series of articles, he provides a thorough introduction to SD technology. Read on to learn how he gets real data in and out of the SD card with the FAT file format.
Lessons from the Trenches 58 George Martin	More on Pointers? This month, George responds to reader requests for a thorough explanation of pointers in C language. He includes several examples and homework assignments. To get you started, George explains the connection between CPU address bits and memory address bits.
Silicon Update 64 Tom Cantrell	Hot Chips 20 Like Circuit Cellar, the Hot Chips conference just celebrated its 20th birthday. This month, Tom takes a look at today's bleeding-edge silicon that may find its way into tomorrow's mainstream designs. And the 20th birthday is also a good time to look back and reminisce about the hits and misses. Tom says "it's been a fun ride and it ain't over yet."
73	Crossword Puzzle
79	Advertiser's Index / February Preview
80 Steve Ciarcia	HTML Priority Interrupt 'Net-Centric Computing

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