itty … bitty … bytes

Here’s my recommendation for an inexpensive, yet feature rich oscilloscope.

Oscilloscope
Model #ADS-2061M
60 MHz Bandwidth
500MegaSamples/s

Dual Channels + External Trigger

I have used some $30K plus digital scopes in the past, Tektronix and HP and Agilent and find this scope for the price offers many of the same features! For better than 1/75 the cost! Look at the above presentation video (takes a little while to buffer) and you will see what I mean; the on-screen functions are basically the same as the expensive scopes.

My DELL520 laptop conked out, went extreeeemly slow; blue screens of death came up indicating a random error.  Normally one would re-install Windows as that is the conventional wisdom (TIME is MONEY for IT support). I coaxed the problem along and decided to transfer everything to a new, larger hard-drive using CloneZilla.

Booted twice and everything runs fine now.

The Geeksquad  would have zapped everything and charged $$$.
Then it would have been a pain reinstalling everything.

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Looks like I’ll be looking for a good deal on a 750GB or 1TB laptop hard-drive for a multi-boot OS computer.    The DELL520 is a rugged computer; I don’t have any major complaints.

I have a few more laptops that I’m getting ready for special jobs.    One I’ve been using is the DELL LatitudeXT, a nice little swivel screen tablet.   Whenever I need to edit some graphics on the fly that tablet fits the bill.

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When I tax my software projects in Windows I use different boot-ups.   Here are my boot.ini options:

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro” /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro 1GB” /fastdetect /maxmem=1024
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro 512MB” /fastdetect /maxmem=512
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro 256MB” /fastdetect /maxmem=256
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro 128MB” /fastdetect /maxmem=128
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro Safe Mode” /fastdetect /safeboot
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Pro VGA” /fastdetect /basevideo

 

I have added a log-on button to enable FaceBook users to use their FaceBook ID to log in over here.

One of the basic necessities of an Electronic Designer is a computer drawing and design program.
There are dozens of programs on the market today that one can choose.  The big problem is which to choose?  After retiring from a multi-national corporation with deep pockets; one that could afford multi-thousands of dollars for CAD systems,  I shopped around for the best software that wouldn’t break me, hoping I could find a software system.

The selections were pretty slim considering that the majority of the huge programs would require a second mortgage on my house.    The affordable selections were either for schematic generating, PCB design, auto-routing or circuit simulation.  The software selections that included all these features got very narrow.

I have a project that I own and develop that requires quite a bit of work and I didn’t want to have to change software to do different functions.  Searching the internet brought up the usual;  Protel, OrCAD, Eagle, Cadence, AutoCAD and some more that I couldn’t afford.  There are also some “free” software packages, but they mostly have limited  functions.  I also looked at some proprietary packages that were only good in submitting to those PCB vendors.  Even those were limited in function.

I found myself downloading demo or crippled versions of Electronics CAD programs.  What I wanted was a program that would be easy to use and not require a long learning curve.  Two programs caught my interest, Target 3001! and AutoTRAX Design Express (DEX). Each of these programs has a scaled back  limited version that one can download.    But I wanted the entire package.

AutoTRAX DEX won me over.

First –

All-inclusive. AutoTRAX DEX has the entire package included in the price.    Those are Schematic Capture, Part Creator, SPICE, PCB Designer, Auto-Router, Gerber File Maker and more.    Target 3001! falls short because some functions require external software, costing extra.    Other CAD software packages have the same limitations.

Second –

Price.  AutoTRAX DEX is the big winner here.   For the same functionality and really more, it is 1/15th the price !

Third –

Users.  Another thing that won me over was the loyalty of the user base and their collaboration in sharing.  Combing through the internet I look for any negative  reviews or complaints about any software.  One of the ICs that I’m designing in is the P8X32A-Q44 micro-controller, the Propeller chip from Parallax.  This chip is already complete in the shared library that comes with AutoTRAX DEX.  There are many others shared.  Having a broad user base was important in my selecting this package.

Fourth –

GUI.    The graphical user interface is easy on the eyes and has multiple selections (themes) so the user can easily adjust to a comfortable and therefore, productive view.    This is a far cry from my early DOS  OrCAD usage!

Fifth –

Support.    Many software packages are updated sporadically, if at all.  With AutoTRAX DEX, as long as you’re connected online, you will get the latest updated version.

Sixth –

Enjoyment.  Yes, one has to enjoy what he is doing in order to produce a good product.   With AutoTRAX DEX, the ease of usage removes the frustrations of complicated software.

All of the programs I considered were Windows based.    I use Windows Xp (32bit) with 2 Gigabytes of RAM.    This program runs fine without any hangups.   To the left is a screenshot of the working area of AutoTRAX DEX.  Anything can be changed quickly and easily or expanded to provide a better view.   The lower left is the footprint of the IC in the schematic, easily edited.   The top left is the library parts list where one selects a part needed in the design.   If there isn’t a part available from the standard library just search the shared libraries for a part already made.    If there’s no part available then it’s easy to edit and make a new part.

The next screenshot shows the individual part that is edited.    As you can see there’s no surprise in IC package when you can see a 3D rendering.    I’ve heard stories of projects that get delayed because the designer couldn’t visualize the finished chip or board.

One of the things I’ve ordered is a replacement graphics card for my computer.   I want to see more with a second monitor hooked up to my desktop.    Not all Electronics CAD software packages can handle two monitors.    This one can.

If you look at the screenshot at left you’ll see the familiar Yahoo! symbol.   This is the link to the Yahoo AutoTRAX community or Group where AutoTRAX DEX topics and information is shared.

One of the things I notice from the newsletter I subscribe to is that the support is very quick.    The feedback gets answered in a timely manner.    This reminds me of the engineering support at my former employer.    One thing that really bothers designers is when the software produces  a bottleneck or an obstacle that requires time, hampering or killing a project.   We all have deadlines, some sooner than others.

I don’t want to pretend that I know everything about Electronics CAD software but I find that this program fills 95% of my requirements and probably will surprise me more as my project gets along.    There is definitely a learning curve in using this software but so far the lessons are intuitively straight forward.    If you’ve never used Electronics CAD software check out the video instructions on the AutoTRAX DEX site.

See for yourself what a deal this package is.    The website is athttp://kov.com

Online college courses. 

No need to leave your home to attend classes!

MIT Online Courses

Electronics used to be one of the greatest hobbies ever. There were literally hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of people who used to play around with electronics as an avocation or part-time interest and activity. There were at least a dozen magazines supporting this group and plenty of parts and kits suppliers to keep them happy.   Kids learned electricity and electronics in school. As a result, when they ended up getting the bug, they ended up not only adopting electronics as a hobby, but also made it into a career. You don’t see too much of that going on anymore.   So what the devil happened to the electronic hobbyist?

I started playing around with old radios in junior high and got interested in ham radio.    I built the classic crystal radio and ……………

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