On Dec 10, 5:18*am, Bruce L. Bergman
wrote:
On Wed, 9 Dec 2009 23:41:31 -0800 (PST), Andrew VK3BFA
On Nov 29, 10:50 am, "John R. Carroll" wrote:
Jim Wilkins wrote:
On Nov 28, 5:54 pm, Wes wrote:

Sorta correct - theres a large lot of electronics (digital) devoted to
getting the software decoded digital signal onto the screen, either
LCD or plasma. Has to map and address the screen in an X-Y plane -

The digital radios I worked on sometimes had hardware Matched Filters
between the A/D converter and the DSP.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matched_filter

The too-far-ahead-of-its-time color ink jet printer used custom ASICs
to remap linear images onto the multiple ink jets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLSI_Technology

These functions could be done in either hardware or software, the
choice sometimes depending on the skills available on the development
team. Twice I was temporarily promoted from lab tech to custom IC
designer to help.

* The Manufacturers of all electronics should be REQUIRED to release
full schematics into the public domain when the unit is out of
production and no longer supported, and the replacement circuit boards
are no longer available. *Because old gear sometimes must be repaired
when there are no new replacements available for them, and you need
the old gear to read the old media.
...
* And without the board schematics and the realignment procedures, and
the Super Seekrit conversion list of proprietary chip numbers to the
industry-standard chips they had relabeled, it can be almost
impossible to fix the unit - unless you were the engineer who built it
in the first place.

-- Bruce ---

When circuits include a PIC or other programmable device the schematic
isn't enough. Little stubs of circuity stick out of it with no hint of
when or how they are active. Once a member of the original design team
leaves some faults in the product can become impossible to diagnose
and repair even in-house.

Companies don't release unpatented "trade secrets" hidden in the
software.

Devices like these are an extreme example.
http://www.xilinx.com/products/devices.htm
The compiler includes a randomizer so that for instance it won't
repeat a compilation that assigns a critical clock signal to an
excessively long path. This means that the very same schematic may
work perfectly one time its compiled and not the next. I spent quite a
while driving between my CAD room and the radio site, through the snow
and wolves, trying to get every function working.

If you want to pursue this line ask Microsoft to release operating
systems into the public domain after they stop supporting them.

How is all this a Primitive Tool???

jsw