23 Aug
2001
23 Aug
'01
4:11 a.m.
At 02:13 am 23/08/2001 +0100, Tony Duell wrote:
^^^^^
Don't you ever sleep? :)
This place is unusual... It used to be the sole R&D unit for the entire
Electricity industry, although since privatisation other places have
muscled in to some extent. As a company, they hold thousands of patents,
and to be an RO (research officer) you *have* to have a PhD; some people do
have more...
As someone without even a degree, I was something of an outsider, but then
it was the first job I ever had, and I think they paid me the princely sum
of ?10/week (travel expenses) for my troubles. It was mainly because I was
fresh out of University (failed), and my Dad pushed me into it. It was a
wise move though - I got my first proper paying job with a subcontractor
company who were working on-site, and I've never looked back.
Yes. As I said a few days ago it's important to have some idea as to what
you are doing (randomly changing things will help nobody), but you do
need some real practical experience.
Agreed. One thing is, last time I was seriously interested in electronics,
I could barely afford a soldering iron, let alone the components, test
gear, etc.
You can: Amazon is my friend... It doesn't say which edition it is, but I
assume it's the newest one.
The authors are different for the 2 editions (I think the first is
Horowitz and Robinson, but I am not going to run upstairs to check ;-)
(yes, I have both editions, and both editions of 'The Art of Electronics
:-))).
The picture on Amazon shows 2 authors, the listing shows 1 different..... A
mystery which will probably not be resolved until next week...
No, rather simpler than that. A 68008 + 256 bytes of RAM (IIRC) and a
hardware frontpanel (hex keyboard, which was supplied to students ready
made, but there is a schematic in the book) + TTL chips to load the RAM
independantly of the microprocessor.
I couldn't see any 68000-series chips in either Farnell or Maplin (mind
you, Maplin's IC section seems to have shrunk to a parody of its former
self); can you recommend a chip supplier with a decent catalogue?
NEver heard of it. I wonder if 'standard' is a misprint for 'student' :-(
I don't think so, but it's out of print anyway, so obviously not that
popular...
I find that public libraries can usually find stuff even Amazon can't;
maybe I should join one down here. I used to be a member at Chester, but
I'm fairly sure that's lapsed by now.
Back in a past
life, I worked on a program (written by a very clever chap
with more PhD's than I've had hot dinners) which ran on a HP computer (I
Since it's unusual to have more than 1 Ph.D. I guess it means you like
cold food :-) > >> >It may be painful to learn, but
it's very satisfying when you
breathe life
Actually, FWIW, this is the sort of learning that I consider fun...
Me too. There's nothing quite like "hands-on" learning, much more
interesting than straight lectures or even student lab work. > >> Definitely. And with Z80s (in particular)
being so cheap, as well as
DRAM
> >> chips, building ones own becomes quite
appealing too. I know a chap who
> >> already does that sort of thing (although I think he uses older Intel
> >> processors on the whole); but I like the idea of a 40-pin processor -
it's
nice and
simple.
I haven't a clue how the bus works though....
Might I recomend the book 'The student manual for the Art of Electronics'
(or some similar title), 2nd edition, by Hayes and Horowitz. The last few
sections get you to build a 68008-based computer from scratch.
A QL? :) I can't
remember what chip the first edition used (8085? Z80?). The related book
'The Art of Electronics' is, of course, well worth reading as well...
I shall order that too, I think. There's also an "Art of Electronics:
Standard Manual", does anyone have any knowledge of that one? Thanks! Any
more book recommendations BTW?
Sure... Mick&Brick 'Bit Slice Microprocessor Design' is a classic if
you're interested in microcoded CPU internals. It's not that easy to
find, though (well, I don't buy things on the internet, so it might be
easy to get there, I've never looked). You also should start collecting data books (or data
sheets) on all the
chips you might be interested in. You'll need them for the CPU, any
peripheral chips you like, and so on. And of course a TTL databook is
essential (don't rely on things like the Maplin Catalogue, there are
plenty of chips not listed in there).
There has to be a Semiconductor Bible out there - any ideas?
Cheers!
Ade.
--
B-Racing: B where it's at :-)
http://www.b-racing.co.uk