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Issue #222 January 2009
New Year, New Content
by C. J. Abate
Last January, I mentioned some of the exciting initiatives that we had in store for 2008. Examples included a new cover layout, a retrospective article by Ed Nisley, and the reintroduction of the EQ section of the magazine. The purpose of the changes was to kick off the new year and mark Circuit Cellar’s 20th anniversary. This year, we will continue to build on the foundation laid during previous editorial cycles. In this issue, for instance, we present an updated page layout, as well as a wide variety of exceptional articles about topics ranging from power switching (Steve Hendrix, p. 44) to using SD memory cards with embedded applications (Jeff Bachiochi, p. 50). For proof of our enthusiastic dedication to featuring the work of a diverse group of designers from all over the world, just take a look at our authors’ biographies. Based in locations ranging from Poland to India, it’s clear that they come from uncommon backgrounds. What they all have in common, of course, are exemplary design and programming skills.
Starting on page 14, Michael Mullins describes an interesting frequency reference synchronized to a GPS clock. The system displays important GPS information like time, location, and velocity.
In “Virtual Audio Control,” Clemens Valens explains how to build a virtual instrument interface (p. 22). The design has two MIDI channels and two audio channels. You can use it to control any musical instrument with a MIDI input. You can also stream media and record audio if you don’t need MIDI.
Turn to Krzysztof Klimaszewski’s article on page 30 to learn about digital radio reception. He built a digital direct-conversion receiver for long waves. You too can design a radio receiver with only a few components and computer speakers.
Are you hooked on embedded development and enthusiastic about designing with FPGAs? Beginning on page 38, Sharad Sinha provides useful tips for designing a system with FPGAs. He covers everything from selecting parameters to resource maximization.
If you’re interested in learning more about the efficacy of C language, check out George Martin’s article, “More on Pointers?” (p. 58). He begins with information about CPU address bits and memory address bits.
Before you choose a chip for your next project, be sure to read Tom Cantrell’s review of Hot Chips 20 (p. 64). He highlights many of the exciting innovative technologies that were featured at the conference. It’s clear that investing in some of these new parts will serve you well as you plan your 2009 project schedule.
Thank you for making 2008 a great year for Circuit Cellar and the embedded design community at large. We look forward to helping you make 2009 even better.
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