EDN Access -- 06.23.94 SOFTWARE SHORTS

Design Ideas: June 23, 1994

SOFTWARE SHORTS

Noise-voltage generator runs under Windows version of Spice

Klaus Kühnel Bäch/SZ, Switzerland

Based on an earlier DOS program by prolific Design Ideas contributor Steve Hageman of Calex, the noise-source generator written in Visual Basic for Windows in EDN BBS /DI_SIG #1434 takes advantage of the Windows user interface to allow you to set up customized noise sources for MicroSim's Windows version of pSpice.

Shell converts ADC data

Paul Kemp, NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX

The generic shell attached to EDN BBS /DI_SIG #1435 is a bit-manipulation program for Motorola's 68HC11 that converts binary data from A/D converters into ASCII data ported out through the µP's asynchronous serial port.

C function converts hex to binary

John Santic, consultant Frederick, MD

The C listing in the text file attached to EDN BBS /DI_SIG #1436 is a simple function that converts an ASCII hexadecimal string to binary. The function (htoi) works very much like the standard atoi library function.

Chaotic amplifier generates Spice noise

JosŽ M Miguel-Lopez, Telecommunication School Barcelona, Spain

The Spice subcircuit for an ingenious chaotic oscillator in EDN BBS /DI_SIG #1437 generates a random voltage that varies between 0 and 1V. The noise generator's output has a flat spectrum ("white noise") from 0 Hz to a maximum frequency you select.

Technique tricks Spice into displaying real-world data

Patrick Goss, ARS Microsystems Basingstoke, Hants, UK

The Spice technique described in the ZIPfile attached to EDN BBS /DI_SIG #1438 allows you to trick Spice into simultaneously displaying the output of a simulated circuit and real-world data taken from a prototype of the circuit.