WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO EDITOR’S INK It Just Gets Better ! turf/s Franklin, Jr. I t must have something to do with a year ending in making serious progress toward solving some mighty big “0.” My desktop has disappeared under a deluge of press problems. The trouble is that they are so much caught up releases, product announcements, and data sheets for in big problems, and the mind-set is so oriented toward big products that are new, products that have been updated, solutions, that they have trouble seeing the small problems and, I fear, some products that are no more than gleams in and (hopefully) small solutions that make up much of our their maker’s eyes. Many of the announcements have very lives. An individual engineer, on the other hand, may well impressive corporate logos embossed on them, but an en- spend timegetting to know a small problemonanintimate couraging number bear the names of small, entrepre- level, and find a solution that fits perfectly. neurial start-up firms. Since we’ve launched into a decade If the engineer then goes on to market the solution, our still young enough to be full of hope and promise, I see the economy has gained a company that will support one, or reemergence of the “garage shop” as a most promising five, or fifty people for many years. It may never have omen for the future. profits of a billion dollars a year, but then most of us don’t The 1980s have been simultaneously held up as the feel weneed quite that much to get by. I’mseeingevidence decade of entrepreneurs and the decade of megamergers. of more and more people deciding that the income from a For many people, “The Dream” consisted of having a great small company, coupled with the emotional fringe bene- idea, starting a small company, and quickly selling out to fits of running a small company, are more than enough to a large, multinational conglomerate. During the last six live on. The dynamic nature of these small companies is months of 1989, I read a number of articles which trum- crucial to a thriving economy, every bit as important as the peted the notion that the only way for a company to stability and power of the huge corporations. survive in the’9Os was for it to have a billion-dollar budget, The ’90s promise to be a decade of dramatic change. a lean, mean staff numbering in the thousands, and a debt Historically, the decades around the turn of a century are load that would sink most developing nations. According illed with social and technical change, and the turn of a to this line of reasoning, this world has now become so millennium is bound to have enormous psychological complex that only massively organized teamwork can effect on most people. The thousands of small companies work to solve problems. I agree that it’s important for our and individuals working to solve practical problems will largest corporations to be healthy, dynamic organizations, give us a technological and economic diversity that will be but a thriving class of entrepreneurs and small companies part of a strong and growing global society. We’re in for an is vital for economic (and social) well-being in this decade, exciting ride. I’m glad that I’m here to see it. and the next century. Let’s look at just one facet of the situation. There are several corporations that are able to fund R&D efforts involving thousands of people and millions of dollars. I get press releases from some of these programs, usually touting the latest advancement in the state of basic re- search. I’m in awe of their capabilities, and they seem to be April/May 1990 1 WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO FOUNDER/ EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Steve Ciarcia PUBLISHER Daniel Rodrigues THE COMPUTER EDITOR-in-CHIEF Curtis Franklin, Jr. APPLICATIONS PUBLISHING CONSULTANT JOURNAL John Hayes ENGINEERING STAFF Ken Davidson Jeff Bachiochi Edward Nisley Computer-Generated 22 CONTRIBUTING q Holographs EDITORS by Dale Nassar Thomas Car&e// Jack Ganssle Holography is a method of encoding realistic 3-D images on standard photo- NEW PRODUCTS graphic film. Using a computer, you can EDITOR Harv Weiner simulate holographic interference pat- terns, with results that can be more CONSULTING impressive than laser holography! EDITORS Mark Dahmke Larry Loeb CIRCULATION Digital Signal Processing COORDINATOR 48 Part 2 - DSP Applications with the TMS32OC25 Rose Mansella q by Dean McConnell CIRCULATION CONSULTANT In Part 1, we looked at theories and general cases. Now, it’s time to get to Gregory Spitzfaden work. Programming the DSP for specific functions, and replacing a pile of discrete components with a single processor are what it’s all about. ART & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Tricia Dziedzinski PRODUCTION ARTIST/ILLUSTRATOR Editor’s INK Lisa Ferry It Just Gets Better 1 BUSINESS by Curtis frunklin, Jr. MANAGER Jeannette Walters Reader’s INK-Lefters to the Editor 6 STAFF RESEARCHERS NEW Product News 8 Northeast Eric Albert William Cur/e w Visible INK-Letiers to the INK Research Staff 12 Richard Sawyer Robert Stek Midwest Jon E/son Firmware Furnace Tim McDonough BASIC Radioactive Radoms 58 West Coast True Random Numbers from Mother Nature frank Kuechmann by Ed Nisley Mark Voorhees From the Bench Honey, I Shrunk the... 70 Cover Illustration New Uses Abound for the Smallest AT-Clone Yet by Robert Tinney by Jeff Bachiochi 2 ClRCUlT CELLAR INK WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO Modulating Laser Circuit Cellar BBS-24 Diodes Hrs. 3rXI/ 1200/2400 bps, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, The Seurch for the (203) 871-1988. Perfect Drive way The schematics pro- Sensor vided in Circuit Cellar INK by Steve Ciarcia are drawn using Schema from Omation Inc. All pro- grams and schematics in From CD players to SDI, infra- Circuit Cellar INK have red lasersare becoming part been carefully reviewed to ensure that their per- of the technological land- formance is in accor- scape. Steve Ciarcia has dance with the specifica- been working with compact tions described, and pro- grams are posted on the infrared laser diodes, and Circuit Cellar BBS for elec- shares the secrets of success- tronic transfer by subscrib- ful applications in this article. ers. Circuit Cellar INK makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility or liability of any kind for Build a Simple SCSl-to-Any- errors in these programs or schematics or for the con- 15 thing Interface sequences of any such 0 errors. Furthermore, be- Take Advantage of the Spec cause of the possible vari- to Simpliv Your Designs ation in the quality and condition of materials and by Jim MacArthur workmanship of reader- assembled projects, Cir- SCSI is, without a doubt, one of the cuit Cellar INK disclaims any responsiblity for the hottest buses on the small computer safe and proper function scene. If you know the spec, you can of reader-assembled proj- shift processing load from hardware to ects based upon or from plans, descriptions, or in- software and save time, space, and formation published in money on your SCSI application. Circuit Cellar INK. CIRCUIT CELLAR INK (ISSN 08968985) is pub- lished bimonthly by Circuit Cellar Incorporated.4Park Street,Suite 20,Vernon. CT 06066 (203) 875-2751. Second-class postage paid at Vernon, CT and additional offices. One- year (6 issues) subscription rate U.S.A. and possessions S 14.95, Canada/Mexico Advertiser’s Index 73 $17.95, all other countries $26.95-surface, $38.95air. All subscription orders pay- Silicon Update able In U.S. funds only, via Whither Zilog? 78 international postal A Roller Coaster on the Back of the Z80 money order or check by Tom CanIre// drawn on U.S. bank. Di- rect subscription orders to Circuit Cellar INK,Subscrip- tions, P.O. Box 2099, Ma- ConnecTime--Excerpts from the Circuit Cellar BBS 82 hopac, NY 10541 or call Conducted by Ken Davidson (203) 875-2 199. POSTMASTER: Please Domestic Automation send address changes to CEBus Comes One Step Closer to Reality 85 Circuit Cellar INK, Circula- by Ken Davidson tion Dept., P.O. Box 2099, Mahopac, NY 10541. Entire contents copy- right 1990 by Circuit Cellar Steve’s Own INK Incorporated. All rights re- The Home Computer Revolution is Over 88 served. Reproduction of by Steve Ciarcia this publication in whole or in part without written consent from Circuit Cel- lar Inc. is prohibited. April/May 3 WWW.GiURUMELE.Hi2.RO READER’S INK Letters to the Editor AN ISSUE OF ACCURACY that there are packages out there, like Autosketch, that can be purchased in this price range. I don’t want to start a semantic argument, but “Steve’s Perhaps you could provide a program at a discount for Own INK” in CIRCUT CELLAR INK #I13 pulled my chain. subscribers to the magazine. This could very possibly set The proliferation of high-technology Tinker Toys has, at an electronic software standard. If the package is accepted times, caused a lot of grief. The perception that the display by your readers, and they are used to using it, they will of many digits means awesome accuracy is a serious probably want to use the same package at their place of problem. work. If I were to calculate the value of IC as 2.94159268, the I hope there is one magazine out there that is willing to result would be reasonably precise, but totally inaccurate. step into the computer age, rather than just write about it. Of what value is this great precision when few devices can be calibrated to an accuracy greater than O.Ol%? Wayne R.