Electro-ramblings

For circuits and circuit design ideas, don't miss an important resource on the site. The
Design Ideas section aims to help engineers find ideas and inspiration for their circuits.

For example, in the Displays category, a moving-dot LED-display interface to a microcontroller uses only three output pins, in Test & Measurement, a white-noise generator has no flicker-noise component, and, for Microprocessors, a crystal controlled microcontroller generates precise timing ticks... There's many, many more, broken down into relevant subject areas.

The full list of sub-sections is:

Continue reading "Explore our Circuit Design Ideas" »

It's my periodic reminder: Have you signed up to receive the Circuits or Made by Monkeys newsletters yet? Or the general, weekly Electronics Weekly newsletter, bringing you the latest news and content from the site? Go to MyAccount to make sure you keep receiving them.

Also, there is a new entry in the stable - a newsletter supporting the Mannerisms blog and its analysis and comment on the semiconductor industry. It is just about to launch, with the first mailing this Tuesday.

During their launch period, ElectronicsWeekly.com was offering Circuits and Made by Monkeys to all our readers, but that came to a close. So if you wish to receive the newsletters you will need to register!

Continue reading "Don't forget to sign up to the Electronics Weekly newsletters" »

Catch up on all the significant news from the International Electronics Forum 2008, hosted in Dubai this year. According to the organisers, the event brings together more than a hundred decision makers from the world's largest technology companies.

Our man on the spot, filing from the event, is David Manners, Senior Components Editor on Electronics Weekly.

Stories to note include:

* IEF 2008: Semiconductor industry consolidation the way to disintegration?
Financial adviser mocks the moves to consolidation in the chip industry. "The consolidation of two companies is like the collision of two garbage trucks", he said, "you get a lot of stuff on the road, but you don't necessarily get any organised pattern that can take you anywhere.".

* IEF 2008: Flash memory leading process technology
The requirements of flash memory scaling are driving the process technology of the semiconductor industry with the NAND flash industry demanding a doubling of density every year

Continue reading "Electronics Forum 2008, Dubai" »

The generators in Freeplay radios have moved on a great deal from the original Trevor Bayliss design, and look quite superb.

I noticed this when squinting through the blue tinted plastic of a Freeplay EyeMax (pictured). [Recently featured in a Gadget Freak competition, btw - Ed.]

Bayliss' original leap of imagination was that a modern wind-up radio was possible, and he followed this up by developing one - coming up with a design that stored power in a spring.

The spring unwound through a set of gears that spun a small DC motor operating as a generator.

Effectively a Mark II, the next version was a better shape to grip when winding, and added a rather neat power-saving touch - a transistor shorted out the motor when its reservoir capacitor was full - which almost stopped the motor and effectively froze the spring until power was next needed.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Wonderful generators in Freeplay radios" »

Here are the top ten most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com in the last week, with the prospect of Graphene replacing ITO (indium tin oxide) in LCDs leading the way, followed by a story on the government's skills policy damaging electronics, and Texas Instruments aiming to reduce the complexity of ZigBee designs...

1. Graphene to replace ITO in LCDs?

2. Government skills policy damaging electronics, says Lord Leitch

Continue reading "Top 10 most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com" »

The latest Q5 interview is with Hamid Farzaneh, president and CEO of video interconnect technology company DisplayLink, which has an R&D team in Cambridge.

He reveals his thoughts on the cost of designing a new chip from scratch, the most interesting application for PC multiscreens, the future for wireless displays and wireless USB, and what makes Cambridge such a good location for undertaking chip R&D.

The five short sharp questions this week are:

Can you describe your technology in two sentences?

What do you estimate to be the cost of designing a new chip from scratch?

Continue reading "Q5 interview - Hamid Farzaneh, DisplayLink" »

The Electronics Weekly News Roundup Podcast

Have just posted this week's roundup of news stories - The Electronics Weekly news roundup

It's a pick of the main stories crossing the ElectronicsWeekly.com News Index this week, from HP Labs memristors and femtocell booms to Icera HSDPA/HSUPA RF chipsets and Saft Li-ion batteries in space...

But if it's more convenient to listen to the news than to read it, don't miss our new audio bulletin of industry developments - The Electronics Weekly News Roundup Podcast.

Continue reading "Listen to the week's news in podcast form" »

Don't miss out on our new online jobs service for the electronics industry, boasting some of the most advanced technology powering any jobs site in the UK. It has relaunched today, helping you to zero in on the latest vacancies for your sector and area. See: www.electronicsweekly.com/jobs

Essentially, it will deliver a superior online experience for both jobseekers and recruiters in the electronics industry. In particular, as well a more accessible search interface, you can register for jobs by email in order to receive relevant jobs without visiting the site, CVs can be searched by employers, and there's a new "Careers advice" section to help you look for new jobs.

Jobseekers will be able to:

* Search the latest jobs from leading employers easily and quickly

Continue reading "Electronics Jobs Service - Upgrades and new features " »

Sign up to receive the new Mannerisms eNewsletter

Love the Mannerisms blog, but can't be fussed with RSS readers to get the latest posts? Let the semiconductor industry commentary come to you, nice and easy, with a once-a-week email straight to your inbox. Every Tuesday, starting 13 May.

We are now introducing an eNewsletter dedicated to the Mannerism blog written by our esteemed colleague, David Manners, Senior Components Editor on Electronics Weekly.

Short and sweet, the weekly email will contain his latest posts and a collection of the most read posts from the last seven days.

Under the My Emails heading, tick the box for:
"Semiconductors: Authoritative and frank industry analysis and comment, from the David Manners blog, "Mannerisms" - Weekly"

Updated twice daily, it's the distinctive, entertaining, authoritative and never dull commentary on the semiconductor industry, from someone who knows.

Here are the top ten most viewed Products on ElectronicsWeekly.com in the last week, with a Cypress touch sensing chip leading the way, followed by a Maxim automotive CAN transceiver, a Baldor frequency inverter, and Atmel FingerChip biometric security system.

1. Cypress has CapSense touch sensing single-chip

2. Maxim has robust, high-speed automotive CAN transceiver

Continue reading "Top 10 most viewed Products on ElectronicsWeekly.com" »

Like many people last year, I had a slug infestation.

Now, I claim not to be a cruel person, but the little buggers were eating just about everything in the garden and I wanted them dead.

As I am not keen on the lingering death induced by slug pellets, or their effect on the food chain, an electronic slug-o-cutor had to be the answer.

I couldn't buy one, so one had to be invented.

At this point, don't get too excited, because I never did build anything for it seems that digging over most of the plot in preparation for laying a lawn also kills slugs.

But I enjoyed the design challenge, and this was my thinking.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Slug-O-Cutor" »

Check out a new feature newly loaded online at ElectronicsWeekly.com - Embedded technology: designers choose from the latest fabrics

As serial-fabric technologies become the limiting factor to system performance, he believes, designers will head to the laboratory and come through with the next-generation high-speed data-delivery system...

Among the points covered by the in-depth article are:

* Low-voltage swings and point-to-point transmission paths allow serial switched-fabric systems to extend data rates into the multi gigabit range.
* Switched-fabric architectures can adapt to system failures by routing data around defective paths or processing modules while repairs are made.
* Multiple serial-fabric communications options in board-level specifications may lead to industry fragmentation and product-interoperability issues.

Continue reading "Embedded technology: designers choose from the latest fabrics" »

Not long ago I was finishing off rewiring a kit car.

It is a DRK. Not this one but one very similar.

The job started when the original Renault 4 wiring loom melted following a fault in the headlight.
Not all circuits in the original car have fuses - thank you Mr Renault.

Days of work added fuses to every circuit, removed metres of spare wire and other junk from the loom, and allowed the owner to rearrange the dash - dumping the awful original instrument cluster in the process.

Upside down under the dashboard it was the usual delightful battle with bits of wire, crimping tools, pliers, and other odds and sods.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Kit cars and Thomas & Betts" »

The latest Q5 interview is with Graham Martin, chairman of the EnOcean Alliance, which promotes self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings.

He reveals his thoughts on the need for a low-power altrernative to ZigBee comms, the 'green credentals' of the Alliance, and a domestic retrofit market for EnOcean-enabled products.

The five short sharp questions this week are:

* ZigBee exists. Why does anyone need another low-power wireless building control technology?

* Are EnOcean's wireless links related to ZigBee in any way?

Continue reading "Q5 interview - Graham Martin, EnOcean Alliance" »

Years of experience, and quite probably many tragedies, have made the UK wiring regulations what they are - good, sensible rules - albeit written in a somewhat impenetrable form.

For all the right reasons, no power sockets or wall-mounted switches are allowed in bathrooms, and light fittings near the bath, shower and hand basin must be special water resisting types.

However, what I find a little nuts is that there seem to be no special rules for the room immediately under the bathroom - normally the kitchen.

Continue reading "An Engineer in Wonderland - Domestic wiring madness?" »

Here are the top ten most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com in the last week, with NXP leading the way with a $1.5bn war chest, Manchester University making a graphene transistor measured in atoms, and a warning from Dwight Decker that the semiconductor industry is 'challenged'...

1. NXP considers how to spend $1.5bn

2. Manchester University makes single atom graphene transistor

Continue reading "Top 10 most popular articles on ElectronicsWeekly.com" »

Just to let you know that the fifth installment of Warren Savage's monthly column on Semiconductor IP is already live on the site - Warren Savage On: Gumming Up the Works?

Unprecedented levels of IP reuse. Record levels of patent applications. Patent trolls... On the face of it, he believes, we are facing a potential "perfect storm" to disrupt the semiconductor industry...

He begins:

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers", William Shakespeare so famously wrote in Henry VI. Out of context and perhaps a bit rash, but a key topic in last week's IP Symposium revolved around the question of whether legal reform is necessary as more and more intellectual property is transacted in our global economy.

On the face of it, we are witnessing a confluence of factors that create the quintessential perfect storm to disrupt the semiconductor industry:

Continue reading "Warren Savage On: Gumming Up the Works?" »

In an increasingly busy and time-poor world, it is almost impossible to imagine our daily lives without the use of wireless communications.

To help guide you through the mist of wireless network information, we have broken down the best of our coverage into bite-sized, manageable morsels for you to digest at your leisure - namely, an easy to use (but still quite comprehensive) A to Z guide of wireless communications. Of course, feel free to read more about wireless networks, with the link provided to Wireless networks: Your Electronics Weekly guide.

Without further ado, allow us to present the A to Z of wireless communications. There's no need to thank us. Enjoy.

Continue reading "A-Z of wireless communications" »

The latest Q5 interview is with Joe Matano, managing director of specialist power system distributor UR Group.

He reveals his thoughts on engineers changing their approach to power system design, the state of the UK electronics manufacturing industry, the impact of EuP and the two biggest technology opportunities in the UK.

The five short sharp questions this week are:

* How would you describe UR's business and its plans for 2008?

* How are engineers changing their approach to power system design?

Continue reading "Q5 interview - Joe Matano, UR Group" »

In the end we got 180 entrants for the Gadget Freak competition, which closed on end-of-play Friday - thank you very much, to one and all.

There can only be one winner, however, and it has now been revealed. See Gadget Freak Competition winner announced

The winner was drawn this afternoon, with the successful entrant soon to be the proud owner of an eco-nifty Freeplay EyeMax Radio (pictured).

Continue reading "One lucky winner for the Gadget Freak compo" »