some digital content

[David Halliday (Volt Computer)]

Rather than going with a hardwired logi setup, why not take it one step
farther and go with a BASIC Stamp or PIC microprocessor.  I do not know
of pricing and availability in Europe but in the states, they are cheap
( $30 ) for a full system.  The system is about 1 by 3 centemeters, runs
from a 9-volt battery, uses serial input from a program running on your
computer and it has a number ( varies with the model ) of digital I/O
lines, analog (8-bit only) analog lines, on-board counter/timers, etc...

Worth looking into!

http://www.parallaxinc.com/
http://www.mpja.com/mfg/scott/scott.htm


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	jbv [SMTP:JBV.SILENCES at wanadoo.fr]
> Sent:	Friday, April 11, 1997 3:22 PM
> To:	synth-diy at horus.sara.nl
> Subject:	Re : some digital content
> 
> RE :
> 	Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 12:40:21 -0600 (CST)
>    From: POLARIS at VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU
> 
>    I know this may be strechting the limits of synth-diy's charter a
> bit, but..
> 
> Digital is completely fine for this forum.  Perhaps you were thinking
> of Analogue-Heaven?  Nah, AH is reserved for boasting about how much
> you paid for your synth.  
> 
>    I'm designing a digital sequencer for my modular which uses a 2k x
> 8bit
>    SRAM chip (2016, I think) and A/D and D/A converters.  The part
> that
>    has me consfused is how to display the address number on a 4-digit
>    LED readout.  It will be an 11-bit binary number, and I've only
>    seen BCD-to-seven-segment decoders, not something to convert big
> binary
>    numbers to multi-digit displays. 
> 
> 
> --------------------
> 
> I didn't spend more than one minute on the problem, but why don't you
> use a ROM ? At first glance, I find it worth exploring that
> direction...
> The ROM would be adressed in 8 bits like the RAM, and its outputs
> would
> drive the BCD-segments. 
> Of course, you would have to design "by hand" the code to burn into
> the
> ROM,
> (and even perhaps be forced to use more than one ROM if several
> BCD-segments),
> but I think the confort and ergonomics of the final result are worth
> handling this painstaking task.
> 
> All the best - jbv