Info Collection Of Electronics: March 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Integrated Communications Processor

$3,395.00 USD (each)

MPC8536DS - Integrated media and communications processor development system

The MPC8536E Development System (MPC8536DS) is ideal for hardware and software development for embedded applications. It leverages Freescale’s highly integrated MPC8536E processor, built on Power Architecture® technology, and leading-edge external components.

The high level of integration in the MPC8536E processor helps to lower system costs, improve performance and simplify board design. The MPC8536E processor supports:

Dual-enhanced three-speed Ethernet controllers (eTSEC) with IEEE® 1588 Rev 2 support
Multiple PCI Express® ports supporting one x8, two x4, or one x4 and two x2 link widths
32-bit PCI controller
Advanced power management controller
Three integrated USB controllers
Two integrated SATA controllers
Enhanced Serial Peripheral Interface (eSPI)
Enhanced Secure Digital Hardware Controller (eSDHC)
4-channel direct memory access (DMA)
Dual universal asynchronous receiver/ transmitter (DUART)
Serial peripherals
General purpose I/O
System timers

The MPC8536E processor also integrates a hardware encryption block that supports different algorithms for high-performance data that is critical for supporting secure communications.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

New Low-Cost PC Oscilloscopes

Everyone knows that Pico is the market leader in PC Oscilloscopes (PCOs) – the modern alternative to traditional benchtop oscilloscopes

New to our 2000 oscilloscope series, the PicoScope 2200 range are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and can be used as a dual-chanel oscilloscope, spectrum analyser, data logger and arbitrary waveform generator.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

How Amplifiers Work?

When people refer to "amplifiers," they're usually talking about stereo components or musical equipment. But this is only a small representation of the spectrum of audio amplifiers. There are actually amplifiers all around us. You'll find them in televisions, computers, portable CD players and most other devices that use a speaker to produce sound.Sound is a fascinating phenomenon. When something vibrates in the atmosphere, it moves the air particles around it. Those air particles in turn move the air particles around them, carrying the pulse of the vibration through the air. Our ears pick up these fluctuations in air pressure and translate them into electrical signals the brain can process.

How Jumbo TV Screens Work?

The video screens at sporting events and concerts are almost like your TV -- except that they're GIGANTIC! Learn about the technology that makes these 30-foot displays possible.

Pistol or Battle Rifle?

Halo 2 fever is in the news again with the release of the new multiplayer maps. As a direct result, Halo 2 has become the hot Flavia Machine topic around the office and our other usual haunts. More than just Halo 2, the central focus has been Halo in general and more specifically, Halo philosophical discussions. Lately the discussion/debate has centered around the question, "Which weapon is better - the pistol or the battle rifle?"

How Guitar Hero Works?

All across the world, average couch potatoes are standing up, taking a plastic guitar and rockin' their hearts out. Find out how the video game Guitar Hero has gripped its maniacal following.All across the world, average couch potatoes are standing up, taking a plastic guitar and rockin' their hearts out. Find out how the video game Guitar Hero has gripped its maniacal following.

How Nintendo DS Works?

With Sony's new portable on its tail, Nintendo's chose not to create a bigger, faster processor, but the Nintendo DS, which stands for either "dual screen" or "developer's system," depending on who you ask.

How Noise-canceling Headphones Work?

One man's noise is another man's music, but no matter what your taste, ambient noise is the enemy. Luckily, there's a piece of audio equipment designed especially to maximize your listening experience, keeping ambient noise out without sacrificing your music's sound quality. That piece of equipment is the headphone, and in this article, we're going to look at how headphones, especially noise-canceling headphones, work.On a 1978 flight to Europe, Amar Bose, the founder of Bose Corporation, put on a pair of airline-supplied headphones, only to find that the roar of the jet engines prevented him from enjoying the audio.He started making calculations right there on the plane to see if it was possible to use the headphones themselves as a noise-reducing agent. Bose introduced the first noise-canceling headphones a decade later.

What is the Apple iPhone?

On January 9, at Apple's annual product showcase, Macworld Expo, Jobs finally revealed the already legendary phone, and it's beyond what anyone expected. Jobs briefly tricked his audience during his Macworld Expo keynote address, announcing three new Apple products: a widescreen iPod, a cell phone and an "Internet communicator." Each announcement drew thunderous applause from the crowd, but what Jobs then revealed was that these three products were actually all part of one device -- the Apple iPhone.

Touted as a "revolutionary mobile phone," the iPhone can make calls, play music, navigate the Web, edit photos, play movies and text message, among many other capabilities. Although many of the iPhone's functions can be found in other devices, the iPhone appears to be unique in that it seamlessly blends these abilities together, while also throwing a bevy of innovations into the mix.

How Television Works?

Television is certainly one of the most influential forces of our time. Through the device called a television set or TV, you are able to receive news, sports, entertainment, information and commercials. The average American spends between two and five hours a day glued to "the tube"!Have you ever wondered about the technology that makes television possible? How is it that dozens or hundreds of channels of full-motion video arrive at your house, in many cases for free? How does your television decode the signals to produce the picture? How will the new digital television signals change things? If you have ever wondered about your television (or, for that matter, about your computer monitor), then read on! In this article, we'll answer all of these questions and more. See the next page to get started.

How the Clover Coffee Maker Works?

Next time you wait in line at the coffee shop, eavesdrop on the other customers. You'll hear them calling out lots of elaborate espresso orders, from nonfat vanilla lattes to peppermint mochas with whipped cream. Accommodating baristas bustle around pulling espresso shots, steaming milk, all so you have your morning coffee exactly the way you like it. Meanwhile, drip coffee sits forlornly in a pot in the back. It could sit there for hours. It costs about a dollar. It's functional, sure, and gets the job done when you need a pick-me-up. But it's probably the least exciting thing in the shop.One machine aims to bring the glamour back to drip coffee: the Clover coffee maker. It was developed in 2005 by the Seattle-based Coffee Equipment Company. As opposed to a batch brew that yields enough cups to get a business through the morning rush, the Clover brews one cup of coffee at a time. With a Clover, the barista and the customer can customize the way the coffee tastes by tinkering with the water temperature and the brewing time.The result is not the kind of coffee you add milk or sugar to, and it sure doesn't begin with anything instant. This coffee maker has become a way to highlight coffee beans from around the world, beans that may cost almost a hundred dollars a pound. The Clover has coffee drinkers reaching into a wine lover's vocabulary for words like earthy, citrusy and spicy. Connoisseurs praise the floral undertones or deride a grassy flavor, and café owners have found customers willing to pay latte prices for drip coffees.

How Massage Chairs Work?

Imagine this scenario: you come home after a long day. Your back is stiff, your shoulders ache and your feet are throbbing with pain. You slip off your shoes, sit back in a reclining chair and pick up a remote. But you're not about to watch television -- you're telling your chair about all your aches and pains. Then your chair gives you a massage.

Robotic massage chairs have been around for a few decades. In the United States, they're luxury items that can cost several thousand dollars. While massage chairs have a relatively small market in the United States, that's not the case everywhere. Many Web sites claim that massage chairs are much more common in Japan -- some sites estimate that more than 20 percent of Japanese households have one.The idea behind a robotic massage chair is pretty simple. A device on or inside the chair provides the person sitting in it the sensation of receiving a massage. Some chairs only have simple vibrating elements. Others contain complex machinery designed to mimic a human massage therapist's techniques. All of them are designed to provide comfort and relief to weary people with disposable income.While many of the massage chairs on the market rely on a mechanical approach, inventors have come up with several other techniques to perfect the massage chair. Some have created designs that use water to massage away tension and stress. Others use a series of airbags to squeeze muscles and promote blood circulation. Several massage chair manufacturers use a combination of technologies in their products.

How Robotic Vacuums Work?

There are those of us who clean once a week, and there are those of us who clean when the in-laws come to visit. The appeal of the robotic vacuum reaches both camps: Either way, the house is a bit more spotless with minimal human input.Today's robotic vacuums are a far cry from the first models that you had to track down, stranded somewhere in your house, by their melancholy, "I'm out of power" beeping. The latest products clean your house, remember the layout to increase efficiency, dump their own dirt in a receptacle and find their way back to the charging station so they can rejuice.In this article, we'll learn about robotic vacuuming, do an in-depth examination of the iRobot Roomba Red and check out some of the other vacuuming robots on the market.

How Smart Watches Work?

There's no doubt that with the popularity of devices like BlackBerry, Palm Pilot and Treo, the trend in technology is to get more and more "connectivity" into smaller and smaller packages. The next step in this technological evolution is the Smart Watch.Smart Watches give people access to news, weather, sports, stocks, horoscopes, MSN Instant Messenger, Microsoft Outlook and much, much more -- all from a wristwatch. In this article, we'll look at the technology behind the Smart Watch.Smart Watches work using a technology Microsoft developed called Smart Personal Object Technology, or SPOT. Microsoft introduced SPOT at Comdex in 2002. Chris Schneider, Senior Program Manager of SPOT, describes the technology:SPOT is a new computing platform designed to bring the power of .NET to everyday objects. SPOT allows for enhanced miniaturization, low power consumption and a low cost solution allowing for accessories such as watches to become more purposeful through the power of software.

How Quartz Watches Work?

During the 1970s, the "quartz watch" burst onto the scene as the newest high-tech gadget. Initially, these watches had red LED displays and they cost around $500 in the United States. Since then, the quartz watch has evolved so that either an LCD or a traditional mechanical (hour and minute hand) movement displays the time, and the price has fallen dramatically. It is not uncommon to find quartz watches given away for free in boxes of cereal!

Clocks and Watches

Where would we be without our clocks and watches? We'll explore the inner-workings of timepieces as well as look at some specifics, such as smart watches, Indiglo, digital watches and pendulum clocks.

How Night Vision Works?

The first thing you probably think of when you see the words night vision is a spy or action movie you've seen, in which someone straps on a pair of night-vision goggles to find someone else in a dark building on a moonless night. And you may have wondered "Do those things really work? Can you actually see in the dark?"The answer is most definitely yes. With the proper night-vision equipment, you can see a person standing over 200 yards (183 m) away on a moonless, cloudy night! Night vision can work in two very different ways, depending on the technology used.Image enhancement - This works by collecting the tiny amounts of light, including the lower portion of the infrared light spectrum, that are present but may be imperceptible to our eyes, and amplifying it to the point that we can easily observe the image.Thermal imaging - This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies, emit more of this light than cooler objects like trees or buildings.

How Fabric Displays Work?

Some people are just begging for attention. Marketers are constantly trying to find ways to build brand awareness, often with clothing -- it's a common practice to make shirts and hats featuring company logos and slogans. To really grab your attention, some companies are using fabric displays -- techniques and systems designed to make dynamic images and text on clothes and other things made of fabric.

There are many different kinds of fabric displays. Some use a still image as a starting point, relying on fabric with special properties to make the design more eye-catching. Other fabric displays can show full video with sound. Each method relies on different technologies, and all have their advantages and disadvantages.A few fabric display techniques are readily available to the consumer market. Creative individuals have used fabric display technology to build elaborate costumes. Jay Maynard used electroluminescent wire (EL wire) in the costume he built based on the Disney film "Tron" -- his Web page describes how made the costume. His efforts gained national attention, and before long Maynard was making the talk show circuit as "the Tron guy."

How the Avatar Machine Works?

Unless you've had an out-of-body experience, you've spent your whole life experiencing everything from the first-person perspective. But what if you could step outside your body temporarily and experience life from a more remote point of view? That's a question that interested a design student named Marc Owens, who invented a device called the Avatar Machine in an attempt to create this kind of experience.