Desktop Personal Computers Reference Materials

Description: This comprehensive guide explains solid-state drive (SSD) technology, including how SSDs work, their construction from flash memory chips and controllers, and data storage mechanisms. The article ...

Description: This comprehensive guide explains how to transform a Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer into a functional home media center. It covers hardware requirements (processor, RAM, storage, connectivity), ...

Description: This article provides a comprehensive technical comparison of the Raspberry Pi 5 against its predecessors, covering processor upgrades, GPU enhancements, RAM expansion, connectivity improvements, and ...

Description: Industrial Panel PCs are designed to meet the demanding requirements of a typical Industry 4.0 application including exposure to dust, extreme temperatures, and shock and vibration. The best Panel PC ...

Description: Effective Computer Cleaning Procedures to stop the spread of COVID-19 ...

Description: Automated Fare Collection (AFC) systems are used in modern mass transit systems around the world to provide passengers with automated ticketing services. The major requirements for AFC systems are ...

Description: Very high performance computer applications have created a demand for large organic substrates capable of interconnecting one or a few ASIC semiconductor devices with packaged memory devices. The ...

Description: The reliability of Plated through holes (PTH's) is presented as "PTH life curves" which plot cycle to fail vs. temperature for the entire range of field, accelerated thermal cycling, and assembly ...

Description: Distributed Control Systems available today offer advantages that were not available during the 1990's. Distributed I/O and Distributed Controllers with various data highways to interconnect afforded ...

Description: Express is apropos for the EPIC Express standard's name because it puts PC/104 on the fast track to the next level. Efforts put forth by Ampro Computer, Micro-sys, Octagon Systems, Versalogic, and ...

Description: When a network needs to transfer small blocks of information over long distances, RS-485 is often the interface of choice. The network nodes can be PCs, microcontrollers, or any devices capable of ...

Description: There's embedded Linux and there's embedded Linux. The Linux strategy used for a shirt-pocket sized MP3 player won't necessarily fit in the PC/104 world. And guess what? RedHat and other commercial ...

Description: In the desktop PC world, networking is the big black hole. Servers, clients, protocols, services, adapters, addresses, etc. Highly trained network administrators spend weeks trying to get functions to ...

Description: To implement an embedded application, a wide range of software choices must be made before implementation is started. Some typical decisions might be: - Should I use an operating system or not? - Does ...

Description: A technical evolution is propelling PCI Express to become the wave of the future for high-performance I/O in industrial/embedded applications. PCI Express provides a high-speed, high-performance, ...

Description: There are so many vendors of LCD panels and so many different sizes and parameters; it is likely that someone will want to use a panel that has not been tested here at Micro/sys. Although there are ...

Description: While the ISA bus and PC/104 continue to be popular, board-level embedded system designers are faced with the challenge of finding a replacement that can support current form factors and address ...

Description: The introduction of the EPIC form factor at the March 2004 Embedded Systems Conference attracted considerable attention from the media and a groundswell of support from other embedded computer ...

Description: In most embedded computer systems, there is a need for interrupts to handle events that require prompt handling by the operating system or application program. Although USB supports interrupt ...

Description: In today's fast-paced world, the length of a design cycle for a product is increasingly critical to the projects' success, whether that project is deployed in-house or is a marketable product. In both ...

Description: With increasing pressures to both reduce the time to market and increase the number of features in their latest models, many medical equipment manufacturers are turning to off-the-shelf PC boards in ...

Description: This article guides the reader through the process of migrating a DOS-based application to Linux. A simple example program is provided which demonstrates key concepts for direct I/O port access in ...

Description: One of the main problems with designing embedded computer systems in the rapid advancement of technology and its effect on the features that are desired or required in a system. In some systems, ...

Description: Although the x86 processor is by far the most popular CPU to be used on PC/104 boards, recent industry trends toward smaller, lower power devices have made the PC/104 platform an attractive choice for ...

Description: Intel, Motorola, AMD and others continue to ship truckloads of low-end 16-bit CPU devices to OEM companies who use these devices to provide internal automation to their products. Quantities are even ...

Description: When using a disk drive, whether it is a flash disk or a rotating media disk, there may be repercussions due to a power failure during a disk write. The FAT file system is the prevalent standard ...

Description: This application note describes how to implement a KEELOQ stand-alone programmer using a Microchip PIC16F84A microcontroller. The PIC16F84A is a FLASH microcontroller with 64 bytes of internal EEPROM ...

Description: Less than six years ago, thermal cooling in the electronics arena was mainly an issue for highperformance, high-end applications, such as, military, aerospace and large-scale industrial and medical ...

Description: This application note describes a technique used to calibrate the internal oscillator on the PIC12F6XX devices. This technique allows the internal oscillator to be calibrated within ± 1%. See the test ...

Description: The Local Interconnect Network (LIN), as described in the LIN v1.2 specification, is a multi-layered system. The levels vary from the physical interface up to the high level application. This ...

Description: This application note describes the design of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) compliant board layout to give new radio frequency (RF) designers a head start using rfPIC transmitters such as ...

Description: Driving any A/D Converter (ADC) can be challenging if all issues and trade-offs are not well understood from the beginning. With Successive Approximation Register (SAR) ADCs, the sampling speed and ...

Description: This application note presents a LIN slave driver for the PIC16F73 using the standard hardware USART. There are many details to this firmware design; however, this application note focuses mainly on ...

Description: This application note presents a LIN slave driver for the PIC18F1320 using the Enhanced USART (EAUSART) module. There are many details to this firmware design; however, this application note focuses ...

Description: The brushless DC fan (BDC Fan) has become the air mover of choice in computing equipment, office automation products, home entertainment systems, and the like. Unlike conventional DC fans, the BDC fan ...

Description: Low frequency magnetic communications (LFMC) is a viable ?wireless? communications alternative to traditional radio frequency (RF) or Infrared communications. It is well suited for certain ...

Description: Certain applications, such as file servers, require redundant cooling fans to ensure uninterrupted system service, even with cooling fan malfunctions present. Typically, such systems have a primary ...

Description: This Application Note describes the working of a KEELOQ® code hopping decoder implemented on a Microchip mid-range MCU (PIC16F873). The software implements a stand-alone decoder integrated with a ...

Description: The rfPIC12F675 is a low cost, high performance UHF short-range radio ASK transmitter design using Microchip?s rfPIC12F675K for 315 MHz and rfPIC12F675F for 433.92 MHz. The module design is suitable ...

Description: This application note describes a low cost, high performance UHF short-range radio ASK receiver design using the Microchip Technology rfRXD0420. The reference design is suitable for: * Wireless remote ...

Description: The rfRXD0420 Receiver Module (see Figure 1) is a low cost, high performance UHF short-range radio ASK receiver design using the Microchip Technology The module design is suitable for: ? Wireless ...

Description: The Digitally Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) has emerged as a standard in Europe to address growing power issues. DALI is known as Annex E of the European electronic ballast standard EN60929 ...

Description: SCSI (Small Computer Interface) is a bi-directional parallel peripheral bus used in computer systems of all sizes. It is used for computer interface with peripherals such as printers, scanners, ...

Description: This application note describes the construction of a low cost serial programmer which uses a PC with a parallel (Centronix printer) port to control a PIC16C84. This programmer has the capability of ...

Description: This application note describes the basic issues that need to be addressed in order to implement digital signal processing systems using the PIC16C74 and provides application code modules and examples ...

Description: There are many different microcontrollers on the market today that are being used in embedded control applications. Many of these embedded control systems need non-volatile memory. Because of their ...

Description: Many designers today are implementing embedded systems that require low cost non-volatile memory. Microchip has addressed this need with a full line of serial EEPROMs, in a variety of memory ...

Description: Learning capability in remote keyless entry (RKE) and remote-controlled security systems is regarded as essential by most manufacturers. The logistical problems associated with the supply of ...

Description: Fuzzy logic control can be used to implement a wide variety of intelligent functions including everything from consumer electronic goods and household appliances to auto electronics, process control, ...

Description: Looking for the optimum non-volatile memory product for your system that requires a small footprint, byte level flexibility, low power, and is highly cost effective? Serial EEPROM technology is one of ...

Description: Looking for the optimum non-volatile memory product for your system that requires a small footprint, byte level flexibility, low power, and is highly cost effective? Serial EEPROM technology is one of ...

Description: This application note presents implementations of the following math routines for the Microchip PICmicro microcontroller family: square root function, exponential function, base 10 exponential ...

Description: The PIC17C42 is equipped with two high frequency Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) outputs. In a pulse width modulated signal the period of the signal is (usually) kept fixed, while the duty cycle is ...

Description: In certain applications, the PIC16CXXX is exercised only when a key is pressed, (e.g., remote keyless entry). In such applications, the battery life can be extended by putting the PIC16CXXX to sleep ...

Description: In certain applications, the PIC16CXXX is exercised only when a key is pressed, (e.g., remote keyless entry). In such applications, the battery life can be extended by putting the PIC16CXXX to sleep ...

Description: The excellent cost/performance ratio of the PIC16C5X makes it well suited as a low-cost proportional D.C. actuator controller. This application note depicts a design for a remote intelligent ...

Description: This application note fully describes the working of a code hopping decoder implemented on a Microchip PIC16C54 microcontroller. The PIC16C54 is smaller than the PIC16C56 used in the normal decoder ...

Description: A general purpose resonator routine is implemented using a PIC17C42. This routine is used to generate multiple tones. A tone signal is normally generated using extensive table lookup schemes.When a ...

Description: The Microchip Technology Inc. 24LC21 is a 1K-bit (128 x 8) dual mode serial EEPROM that was developed primarily for use in computer monitors. This part was developed with inputs from several computer ...

Description: This Technical Brief demonstrates the translation of a game port game pad to a USB game pad using the PIC16C765, Microchip's low-speed USB PICmicro® microcontroller (MCU). The purpose of this ...

Description: Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an Internet protocol that was originally designed to manage different network devices, such as file servers, hubs, routers and so on. It can also be used ...

Description: The Set_Report request is a HID specific command. It was the only provision in Version 1.0 of the USB specification that could send data from the host to a peripheral. This later changed with Version ...

Description: This Technical Brief describes the creation of a USB device that can enumerate as a mouse or as a keyboard, depending on which PS/2® peripheral is plugged into it. The Soft Detach provision of ...

Description: Many times, choosing a FLASH memory device is driven by which manufacturer has the cheapest offering. Regardless of its use as a stand-alone device or as the program memory of a microcontroller, what ...

Description: This application note strives to impart core, fundamental programming concepts and design considerations for the development of Palm OS® application programs. Attention is given to each of the ...

Description: The MCP2510 stand-alone CAN controller was originally developed to give CAN system and module designers more flexibility in their design by allowing them to choose the best processor for their ...

Description: When developing applications using a network protocol standard, it is helpful to "see" the data being transmitted between the devices. When the network protocol standard uses a physical medium, a ...

Description: The RS-232 serial interface is no longer a common port found on a personal computer (PC). This is a problem because many embedded applications use the RS-232 interface to communicate with external ...

Description: The 24LCXXB Serial EEPROMS from Microchip Technology are I2C compatible and support both the standard100 kHz and the 400 kHz Fast mode. Many times when designing an application which utilizes a serial ...

Description: The 24LCXXB Serial EEPROMs from Microchip Technology are I2C compatible and support both the standard 100 kHz and the 400 kHz Fast mode. Many times when designing an application which utilizes a ...

Description: Microchip Technology is now offering a number of established Flash devices in a ROM version for high volume customers. This application note details some of the differences between the Flash and the ...

Description: PICSTART-16B1 is a DOS-based device programmer that interfaces with a PC host to provide product developers with the ability to program user software into the PIC16C5X, PIC16C61, PIC16C71 and PIC16C84 ...

Description: The PICkit 1 Baseline Flash Programmer PC application together with the PICkit 1 Flash Starter Kit firmware version 2.0.0 or later can program baseline Flash devices. This Technical Brief discusses ...

Description: The 24XXX series serial EEPROMs from Microchip Technology are I2C™ compatible and have maximum clock frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to 1 MHz. The MSSP module available on many PICmicro® ...

Description: The 25XXX series serial EEPROMs from Microchip Technology are SPI™ compatible and have maximum clock frequencies ranging from 3 MHz to 20 MHz. The MSSP module available on many PICmicro® ...

Description: The 24XXXX series serial EEPROMs from Microchip Technology are I2C™ compatible and feature maximum clock frequencies ranging from 100 kHz up to 1 MHz. Many times when designing an application ...

Description: There are many different microcontrollers on the market today that are being used in embedded control applications. Many of these embedded control systems need nonvolatile memory. Because of their ...

Description: This application note will explain how to use the Enhanced Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (EUSART) in Asynchronous (full-duplex) mode, capable of auto-wake-up on character reception and ...

Description: The purpose of the firmware is to show how to generate specific I2C transactions using the MSSP module on a PICmicro microcontroller. The configuration required for I2C Master mode is explained, as ...

Description: The majority of embedded control systems require nonvolatile memory. Because of their small footprint, byte level flexibility, low I/O pin requirement, low-power consumption, and low cost, serial ...

Description: The majority of embedded control systems require nonvolatile memory. Because of their small footprint, byte level flexibility, low I/O pin requirement, low-power consumption and low cost, serial ...

Description: GPIO expanders provide easy I/O expansion using standard serial interfaces. GPIO products are used to increase the I/O on an MCU or provide remote I/O using a serial interface. This application note ...

Description: This application note discusses the operation of a Capture/Compare/PWM (CCP) module, and the interaction of multiple CCP modules with the timer resources. The (CCP) module is software programmable to ...

Description: In the past, there had not been any standards laid down for the area of industrial machinery engineering; the result of this was that EMC filters at the mains input of machines were used only to a ...

Description: "We were stunned at the performance difference between brands of multiport USB to serial adapters." Design architecture is the critical element. ...

Description: A leading supplier of emergency notification systems used by private and governmental entities, nuclear plants, and chemical stockpile (CSEPP) sites around the country contracted Sealevel to design a ...

Description: A world leading developer and manufacturer of critical two-way radio communications system used by public safety and government organization such as police and fire departments needed an ...

Description: The first Relio system was designed as a remote data acquisition component of an OEM Enterprise Management System. Vital systems and infrastructures require constant monitoring and vigilant management ...

Description: A manufacturer of security systems for public facilities required a 2U rackmount computer with a large amount of I/O to interface a variety of motors and sensors. The new system based on the Relio ...

Description: A leading radio broadcasting company required a reliable, small, cost-effective solution for monitoring and control at transmitter sites. In addition to the dense I/O requirements, the customer ...