Pour your own programmable analog By Joshua Israelsohn, Technical Editor
Pouring analog-circuit descriptions through an interface sounds like a versatile way to form functional blocks. But before I hang up my soldering iron, I wanted to know how well they work in practice.
FROM EDN EUROPE: Network protocols compete for highway supremacy By David Marsh, Contributing Technical Editor
At a time when electronics enables some 90% of all automotive innovations, connectivity is the key to successful system integration. But ever-increasing system loads are forcing designers to rethink network technologies and topologies. As with now-mature CAN, expect the results to benefit widespread automation industries.
Design Features
Maximize performance when driving differential ADCs By Sally Paterson, Analog Devices Inc
Converting a single-ended signal to a differential signal before the analog-to-digital conversion can improve the performance of your data-acquisition system.
Active filters for video meet antialiasing and reconstruction requirements By Bill Stutz and Miles Bekgran, Maxim Integrated Products Inc
Original video filters were passive L-C circuits surrounded by amplifiers. Today, you can achieve smaller and more efficient designs by combining the amplifier with an R-C filter. Moreover, sensitivity analysis and predistortion methods have overcome the poor performance that gave early video filters a bad reputation.
IEEE 488: not dead yet? By Dan Strassberg, Senior Technical Editor
Nothing good lasts forever, but IEEE 488's slow decline is making the venerable instrument-interface standard seem immortal.
Sound savings: Portable audio recorder takes on tape, part 2 By Brian Dipert, Technical Editor
The last issue of EDN dissected the PDAudio-CF sound card, which tackles digital-domain conversions. This concluding write-up discusses the other half of the PDAudio-hardware chain, MIC2496, along with the system software that completes the symphony.
