CURRENT ISSUE
Contests
Table of Contents
|
|
Issue #211 February 2008 — Wireless Communications
Task Manager
Real-World Apps, by C. J. Abate
Priority Interrupt
Avoiding Stereotypes, by Steve Ciarcia
New Product News, edited by John Gorsky
FEATURE ARTICLES
Wireless Sensor Network Design
A Flexible Platform for WSNs
by Diego Méndez Chaves,
Mauricio Guerrero Hurtado & Néstor Peña Traslaviña
A group of designers from Los Andes University presents a wireless sensor network (WSN) platform. It is a testbed for the evaluation of different algorithms related to the communications stack of a network (e.g., routing policies, transport protocols, topology control, and medium access control). p. 12
Keywords: Wireless, sensor, network, WSN, ATmega128, CC2420, mote, kernel, SOS, MicaZ
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
INTELLIGENT ENERGY SOLUTIONS
Solar-Powering the Circuit Cellar
Part 3: Wiring & Electronics — Read
it now!
by Steve Ciarcia
Installing a major renewable energy source like Steve’s home photovoltaic system is no small feat. It requires intelligent planning, technical know-how, and the ability to think outside the box. This month, he describes the last leg of this long technical adventure: wiring and electronics. p. 22
Keywords: Solar, PV, wiring, electronics, pole mount,
panel, SPR-210, inverter, maximum power point tracking, MPPT, conservation,
CFL, LED, INSTEON
RFID Payment Terminal — Read
it now!
by Carlos Cossio
Carlos’s LM3S811-based handheld terminal makes contactless payments a reality. The terminal’s LCD—which shows the date and time—prompts you to enter payment amounts on the keypad. After transactions are complete, the log file stored on the device’s flash memory can be sent to a host system through an RS-232 interface. p. 34
Keywords: RFID, LM3S811, payment terminal, keypad,
RS-232, transmission, modulation, MIFARE, ISO 14443, antenna
Cash for Code
Part 2: Publish Your Firmware
by Richard Hoptroff
Richard concludes his series about firmware. In this article, he examines issues such as copy protection, pricing, and firmware publishing. Firmware-related business opportunities are out there. It’s time to cash in. p. 44
Keywords: Firmware publishing, sales, copy protection, security, pricing,
patenting, discounting
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
System Control
TCP/IP Communication with Embedded Processors
by Cass Tyler
TCP/IP communication with embedded processors, using text commands, is fast and reliable. Best of all, it doesn’t strain a host PC’s resources. Cass describes how to implement a TCP/IP socket server on a Rabbit Semiconductor RCM2200 microprocessor. p. 52
Keywords: TCP/IP, communications, socket server, RCM2200, distibuted control, server, client
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
COLUMNS
THE DARKER SIDE
Antenna Basics
by Robert Lacoste
Robert recently moved out of his comfort zone and stepped into the world of antenna technology. In this article, he describes the experience and covers the topics of impedance matching, antenna simulation, and more. p. 60
Keywords: Antenna, impedance matching, simulation, reactance, reflection coefficient, Smith chart, radiation, 4NEC2, Sonnet, microstrip, QUCS
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
ABOVE THE GROUND PLANE
Transformers
by Ed Nisley
Are you looking to try spot welding or resistance soldering? Ed has you covered with a look at transformer basics. He examines some of the fundamental equations governing transformers and measures the properties of a real transformer. p. 70
Keywords: Transformer, spot welding, resistance soldering, Oersted, flux, Maxwell, magnetic path length, permeability, BH plot
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
FROM THE BENCH
Portable Poll Server
Part 2: Data Acquisition & Results
by Jeff Bachiochi
Jeff finishes describing the design of a portable poll server. SitePlayer and a small micro provide Internet access to a poll’s questions and the results. p.
74
Keywords: Poll server, SitePlayer, data acquisition, serial, data,output
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
SILICON UPDATE
Got Chips?
by Tom Cantrell
Tom’s been on the road again, this time heading coast-to-coast from Hot Chips 19 at Stanford University to the Embedded Systems Conference in Boston. See where silicon is and where it’s headed as he takes a whirlwind tour of today’s and tomorrow’s chips. p. 78
Keywords: Hot Chips 19, Embedded Systems Conference, ASIC, FPGA, CAP, Customizable Atmel Processor, Igloo, power, LDO Killer, OmniLink60, ZigBee, Wibree, eZ430-RF2500
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
PREVIEW
Issue #212 March 2008 — Robotics
◊ Robotics Made Easy: A Peripheral Chip for Low-Level Functions
◊ Robotics with Ada95
◊ Vertical Plotter System
◊ Do-It-Yourself Motion Controlled Gaming(Part 1): Get Started with a Simple Application
◊ Multiplication and Division Techniques for MCUs
◊ Microchip 16-Bit Embedded Control 2007 Design Contest Winners Annnouncement
◊ LESSONS FROM THE TRENCHES Do You Want to Do a Design?: Linked Lists
◊ FROM THE BENCH Navigating the Heavens
◊ SILICON UPDATE More Bits, Less Filling
|
