My article Signal reference grids in the data center shows that different types of data communication interfaces are classified into susceptibility classes: Data communication interface classification Susceptibility class: Low immunity Interfaces in class: Parallel ports, RS-232 ports, Proprietary back-plane, Video cables Characteristics: Copper cabling with ground referenced signals. Any shift in ground voltage between the →
One of the most common direct coupled noise sources is when the ground which is being used for reference or return is not referenced to earth as expected. This is especially prevalent in sensitive high-gain circuits. Grounding and Shielding Existing Equipment – How to effectively minimize EMI issues when best practices are not available is →
Reverse engineering salvaged part footprints article mentioned an interesting idea to use a microscope software to process an image of the board. Measuring with Software article mentions an interesting free computer-based microscopy software MiCam. MiCam software allows (once you have calibrated it) you to draw more lines on the photos and calculate and display the →
EDN magazine articele Ground loops by Howard Johnson (Signal Integrity) article starts with question why in audio circuit designers avoid ground loops at all costs, yet in digital products you normally see a solid ground plane holding hundreds of circuits. This is a good question and the article gives answers to that. Audio designers like →
Cell phones with build in cameras are replacing cheap pocket size digital cameras and video cameras. Best cell phone cameras can be better in many ways than cheap pocket digital cameras from few years back. And most people do not want to carry separate devices for each function (at least without a very good reason), →
Intel’s talking about its new stuff at CES. Gizmodo article Intel’s New Chips: Everything You Need to Know gives you the latest details on Touch, Live Pay TV, Atom phones, all-day battery life for Intel Core computers. Nowadays it seems that CES is the World’s Greatest Hardware Show Stuck in a Software Era. For a →
Movies have been shot and displayed at 24 frames per second for over 80 years (before that silent films were filmed in somewhat lower frame rate somewhere between 16 and 18 frames per second). In 1927, when sound came along, the industry needed to agree on a motor-driven, constant camera speed. 35mm film stock is →
Board-level designers often have concerns about the proper way to handle grounding for integrated circuits (ICs) which have separate analog and digital grounds. Should the two be completely separate and never touch? Should they connect at a single point with cuts in the ground plane to enforce this single point or “Mecca” ground? How can →
The author of CNET’s The Audiophiliac blog recently asked, “Who wants perfectly accurate sound?” His answer? Most headphone and speaker buyers prefer less accurate sound reproduction. Consumer audio: Is accurate sound overrated? blog posting says this may be the case (although he doesn’t supply any real evidence to support this assertion). If so, so be →
Nowadays Internet if full of videos you can watch. Sometimes you might want to watch videos in place where you don’t have fast Internet connection. A good solution to this problem is to save the videos you want to your computer hard disk and view them from there. In many on-line video sites you can →