EEVblog #1326 - How Engineering Minds Think Alike

Two almost identical complex designs published at almost the same time?
How does that happen? Let's explore the design engineering mindset.
Let's go back to 1996 and see how similar Dave's PC Logic Analyser design is to one published in Elektor Electronics magazine.

#LogicAnalyser #Design #Publication

Buy anything through that link and Dave gets a commission at no cost to you.

Donate With Bitcoin & Other Crypto Currencies!

[SantaClaw]

I want a floating Dave desktop widget that rants about stuff randomly. Maybe it could have animation to eat desktop icons from time to time

[rocifier]

I must say that DaveCAD has definitely evolved since back then. There wasn't even a smiley face in the 90s!

[trevorvanbremen]

My big 'takeaway' from this video was the Eureka moment when I realised that old EA magazines (and Silicon-Chip etc) can be viewed on the Wayback machine!
I cannot remember exactly WHICH articles I wanted to view at the moment, but I am now 'armed-and-ready' to do so once I remember what I was looking for.

[Xoferif]

In the early 90s I remember a hard-up engineer building himself a logic analyser out of a parallel DRAM chip and an old telly. =)
The DRAM chip had its address pins hooked up to an always-running counter that kept it refreshed (and also governed the sample rate).
The probes were hooked directly to the DRAM's data pins. To capture data the trigger circuit just asserted the DRAM's write-enable pin for a fixed time.
To look at the results there was another circuit that asserted the DRAM's read-enable pin for a fixed time, and the data pins were also hooked up to a mono video signal generator that was wired into the old telly. There was a knob that varied the hold-off between the counter crossing zero and the start of the read pulse, so he could just twist the knob to scroll back and forth through the captured waveforms on the telly!
I was really impressed with his ingenuity when faced with needing an expensive tool and having bugger-all money. =)

[samuelschwager]

A: "My RAM is bigger than yours!"
B: "I have more channels!"

[ezion]

7:45 A big part of the Elektuur/Elektor business model at the time was to sell PCBs for the published projects. Their choice for the double sided though plated option was probably motivated by this.

[Ma_X]

Always when I was read this kind of magazines in my childhood, I thoght: "Who are that smart people who publish all this cirquits and texts like current going here, current going there? Who, for gods sake knows all that stuff..." And now I can see you and your lab and your lessons. Glory to Internet! :-)

[stefansweerts]

@eevblog, hi Dave, Elektor was and still is a Dutch magazine that has been translated for over the world.

[jtb]

Skip ahead to 4:12 for floating Dave head. Would be even better if you wear a green shirt.

[andy]

Huge respect, Dave. What a cool contribution to the community.

[marcelvandenbroek]

Elektors original name is Elektuur. first edition 1960 from the Nederlands. it's Dutch.

[Jimmeh_B]

I remember reading this article in my high school library. I can remember being very disappointed knowing that there was no way I was going to be able to get my hands on any of the kit or gear to build it. However it was "the" article that made the penny drop for me with regard to addressing, and from that I designed and built my first interface that drove 4 stepper motors from the parallel port. That was the first program I ever wrote that made something happen in the real world. I was VERY proud of it, my parent's were very indifferent about it lol. Cheers Dave! @EEVblog.

Also, then and to this day, logic symbols all the way! They look much better than square boxes!

[DreitTheDarkDragon]

41:10 - wow, transparent magazine (back) from the future!

[jdlives]

It’s amazing how the Chinese think like the rest of the world about a year or 2 later. Stay safe mate. Love the channel

[Matlalcueitl]

We used classic symbols in Poland in 90s. I remember one could find IEC symbols only in Elektor back then.

[Byteman]

Was an avid reader of Elektor Electronics as early as 1985 at my local library in Glen Waverley, VIC. In my mind at least this publication made Silicon-Chip & Electronics-Australia seem amateurish.

[Yosory]

You need to wear a green shirt, so you really are a floating head :D

[byronwatkins]

The AC version does include the TTL voltage levels, so it is not unreasonable to advertise TTL compatibility. Once the technology is available and cost-effective, it is not unusual for 2-3 people to decide to build similar devices at about the same time using these parts. This is especially true for such useful (and expensive) devices as logic analyzers.

[Eddong]

There where prototyping services in the early 90... Used them when i was in school to make the PCB for my final project. Minimum order was 3 board for double size PCB. Price wasn't that bad, i had a 3x5 inch double size PCB with silk screen for under 100$ and that was in 1990-1991. Manufacturing time was 3-5 days and we could upload the gerbers to their BBS or give them à floppy. The big difference is it was locally produced PCB, instead of having them made in china.

They where quite use to deal with student and even made some minor modification (after letting us know about theses of course). China kinda killed then, in the 2000.

[ptronix]

I was taught iec symbols in college in the UK, Late 70's early 80's, then never used them again!