Circuit Cellar Ink 245
December 2010

Table of Contents

4


CJ Abate

HTML Task Manager

Looking to the Future

8


John Gorsky

HTML New Product News

9


David Tweed

HTML Test Your EQ - Answers for Issue 244

NXP mbed Design Challenge

10


Simon Ford

The mbed Challenge Is On!

The mbed team is setting out to make rapid prototyping with microcontrollers a reality. Now it is your chance to get involved, develop something remarkable, and help move the industry forward. Are you up to the challenge?

The Consummate Engineer

12


George Novacek

Good Old PALs

Microcontroller monitoring is essential to ensuring the reliability of a design. But watchdog timers don't always fit the bill. An alternative is a programmable array logic (PAL) arbitrator, which if used properly can significantly improve a system's fault-detection capability.

16


Riley Kotchorek
Michael R. Smith
Vahid Garousi

Mobile Application Development

Part 1: Program a Sound-Monitoring Prototype

Mobile medical devices are poised to change how healthcare professionals service their patients' needs. This series details how to develop a prototype Windows Mobile application for such a purpose. In this article, you learn about programming a sound-monitoring prototype used to identify medical issues related to sleep apnea.

28


Eric Ohmit

MCU-Based Aircraft Data Logging and Telemetry

Part 2: Telemetry System Development and Results

The first article in this series detailed how to design an aircraft data logger. This article covers the development of the telemetry system. Useful test results are presented.

Download: Ohmit-245.zip

34


Richard Dzioba

Interactive USB Module

Are you ready to unlock the mysteries of USB? It's possible with this low-cost project. Here you learn how to build an interactive module of your own.

Download: Dzioba-245.zip

Above the Ground Plane

42


Ed Nisley

Real-Life VHF Data Transmission

Understanding and Using the APRS

You can develop hardware applications that automatically report their positions to the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) network, which is a global digital network linking amateur radio stations through RF to the Internet. This article provides useful tips and covers topics ranging from RF propagation to position tracking.

Download: Nisley-245.zip

The Darker Side

50


Robert Lacoste
Yannick Avelino

Parasitic Components

When Capacitors Behave Like Inductors

Every engineer understands the importance of capacitors. But what happens when a capacitor starts behaving like an inductor? The experiments presented in this article show that capacitors aren't always as simple as they seem.

Download: Lacoste-245.zip

From the Bench

58


Jeff Bachiochi

Encoder Essentials

How to Close the Loop with Hardware

Component control is a key aspect of any successful robotics or mobile application. But a control system is ineffective without accurate, timely feedback. Enter the encoder, which can play a variety of important roles in a robotics application. This article details why closing the loop with feedback is an important part of the "control formula."

Silicon Update

66


Tom Cantrell

What's My Line?

Moving Toward a General-Purpose Chip

Processor, controller, DSP? Once the difference was clear, but over time it has blurred. Sure, there are still obvious differences at the extremes: the 'x86 in a PC is a processor, a PIC is a controller, and a SHARC is a DSP. But otherwise, the trend is toward general-purpose chips that cover all the bases.

74

Crossword Puzzle

78

Crossword Puzzle - Answers for Issue 244

79

Advertiser's Index / January Preview

80


Steve Ciarcia

HTML Priority Interrupt

Winging It

FTP Directory for INK 245

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