Sanket Gupta @ blog.octopart.com tipped us with his latest article. He writes:
Continuing our series on how to select components, we will discuss different IC packages in this blog. ICs are the backbone of electronic devices, and choosing the right IC requires considering factors like price, reliability, performance, and package, among others. In this blog, we will focus on demystifying different IC packages, so that you can make an informed decision when you select the IC for your next project. We have also included some links to popular ICs.
Taking aim at rivals Rigol and Tektronix, Keysight Technologies has introduced a series of four oscilloscopes aimed at educators, small labs, and perhaps individuals. The InfiniiVision 1000 X-Series of two-channel oscilloscopes has bandwidths of 50 MHz, 70 MHz, and 100 MHz (upgradeable from 70 MHz with a software key) with prices starting at $449 (see table).
Keysight adds 50/70/100 MHz oscilloscopes for educators, small labs – [Link]
Arrow Electronics, a global provider of products, services, and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions, is now joining the Embedded World 2017 exhibition and conference. Embedded world is the trade fair for the security for electronic systems and distributed intelligence, started on 14 March 2017 until 16 March in Nuremberg, Germany.
At Embedded World Arrow Electronics is showcasing a range of products and services that can assist members of the maker community in transforming their innovative ideas into production. Start-ups and established companies can all benefit from a suite of online tools that, combined with Arrow’s breadth of suppliers and global logistical capabilities, enable time-to-market to be shortened.
Visitors can learn how to benefit from Arrow’s relationship with crowdfunding pioneer, Indiegogo. Working with Indiegogo, Arrow is able to put critical resources in the hands of entrepreneurs, such as components procurement and online design tools, and also to share its expertise in the journey from design to production.
Arrow will also demonstrate a free, integrated, cloud-based version of the Cadence OrCAD Capture design solution that makes it easier for design engineers and makers to integrate component research and selection within their design environment. OrCAD Capture Cloud saves significant development time, helping entrepreneurs get their products to market more quickly and cost effectively.
At Embedded World 2017 Arrow will introduce several new 96boards to the market: Meerkat, Chameleon96, Oxalis!
The Chameleon96 board from Arrow Electronics is featured prominently at Embedded World 2017.
Meerkat has NXP® i.MX7D processor, a dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A7 at up to 1.2GHz clock speed per core and ARM Cortex-M4. The connectivity on the board is: WLAN 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 4.1, One USB 2.0 OTG micro AB, Two USB 2.0 HOST, On-board BT and WLAN antenna.
Chameleon96 has Intel® Cyclone V SoC FPGA, a dual-core ARM® Cortex™-A9 at up to 800MHz clock speed per core, capable of 32-bit operation. It supports Linux at launch and offers advanced processing power, WLAN, Bluetooth, and USB, all packed into a board the size of a credit card.
Oxalis, the 96Boards EE (Enterprise Edition) carrier board which held the SoM based on NXP Network Processor QorIQ® LS1012A processor, optimized for battery-backed or USB-powered, space-constrained networking and IoT applications, integrates a single ARM Cortex-A53 core running up to 800 MHz with a hardware packet forwarding engine and high-speed interfaces to deliver line-rate networking performance in an ultra-small size envelope at 1W typical power dissipation.
More details about Arrow’s “From Maker to Market” philosophy check this article.
You can still visit Arrow during Embedded World at booth 340 in hall 4A to know more about the offers, products and online tools. Also check Arrrow Electronics website for more information.
Yes, the modern smartphone is more powerful than the computer used by NASA during the Apollo mission, but that overlooks how impressive the Apollo computers actually were. For starters, there wasn’t just one computer, there were four.
How Do NASA’s Apollo Computers Stack Up to an iPhone? – [Link]
by Michael Seeman and Dave Freeman from Texas Instrument:
One important innovation that promises to contribute significantly to meeting this goal is the use of gallium-nitride (GaN) in power applications. GaN is already an established semiconductor material, employed extensively in LED lighting and increasingly important in wireless applications. Now, with process advances and defect rate improvements, GaN is providing a number of advantages in electronic power supplies that convert electricity between alternating and direct current, change voltage levels and perform a number of functions to ensure the availability of reliable electric power.
Advancing power supply solutions through the promise of GaN – [Link]
The revolutionary Intel 8008 microprocessor is 45 years old today (March 13, 2017), so I figured it’s time for a blog post on reverse-engineering its internal circuits. One of the interesting things about old computers is how they implemented things in unexpected ways, and the 8008 is no exception. Compared to modern architectures, one unusual feature of the 8008 is it had an on-chip stack for subroutine calls, rather than storing the stack in RAM. And instead of using normal binary counters for the stack, the 8008 saved a few gates by using shift-register counters that generated pseudo-random values. In this article, I reverse-engineer these circuits from die photos and explain how they work.
Analyzing the vintage 8008 processor from die photos – [Link]
Lantronix, Inc. has added the xPico 200 family of embedded IoT gateways that measure 17 by 25 mm, to rpvide secure Ethernet, Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connectivity for smart IoT solutions. by Graham Prophet @ edn-europe.com:
The xPico 200 series will feature enterprise security, networking intelligence, and pre-integration with Lantronix’s MACH10 management software platform in a compact footprint that enables the functionality of a powerful IoT device gateway to be integrated into machines not previously practical.
Embedded IoT gateway, in a 17 x 25 mm footprint – [Link]
Farnell element14’s tinyTILE is an Intel Curie module based board created by the distributor in partnership with Intel. by Julien Happich @ edn-europe.com:
Measuring only 35x26mm, the tinyTILE has been specifically designed for use in wearable and IoT designs for consumer and industrial edge products. It runs a software platform created specifically for the Intel Curie module and as such, can be programmed using either the Arduino IDE, Intel’s own software, Intel Curie Open Developer Kit (ODK), or Anaren Atmosphere, a cloud-based ecosystem that offers a complete end-to-end IoT solution.
Premier Farnell partners with Intel on IoT – [Link]
Back when I was developing the PSU burner, I wanted to have the Analog Discovery isolated from the common ground, to avoid noise and other issues. Since I did not have a way to do this, I ended up using a laptop on battery for measurements. But for long term, I needed to have this isolation. Unfortunately, things that can isolate USB at 480Mbps or faster are too expensive to justify.
The solution
The ADUM3160 isolator can provide a magnetically isolated 12 Mbps connection, which proved to be good enough. I grabbed one ready made isolator module from ebay for about $12, cheap enough. Well, it is not perfect: the B0505S DC/DC converter provided can only supply 1W and the Analog Discovery is a hungry beast.
In this video, Circuit Basics will show us how to configure a WiFi dongle and establish a wireless connection for your Raspberry Pi. This is useful if you don’t wish to connect your Raspberry Pi to your network with an Ethernet cable.
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