First Steps with Programmable Logic Let's say you need a five bit binary counter and do not happen to have one in store. What would you do? I did have a few Atmel/Microchip GALs which I never had a chance to put to good use up until now. The WinCUPL syntax for specifying a design is a bit odd and it takes some time to get used to when you are coming from a software background. But it can be done, perstistence beeing, as often, the mother of all virtues. I spent quite some time figuring out what the proper equations should be but I eventually found out. The ATF22V10C has registered outputs, which means they can be used for counting purposes or as shift registers. The magic incantations happen to be as follows: q4.d = q4 $ (q3 & q2 & q1 & q0); q3.d = q3 $ (q2 & q1 & q0); q2.d = q2 $ (q1 & q0); q1.d = q1 $ q0; q0.d = !q0; The beauty of the design is simply outstanding!

The Sum of Many Hopes Very few things in life are as rewarding as engineering can be. That is especially true from a hardware perspective. About three years ago, I bought a double Europe format prototyping board and, essentially, I had a whole world of potential creativity ahead of me. I restricted the field to a project that I had in mind for quite a long time (more than thirty years): put an actual 6809 processor to work. As often in life, your own personal evolution is guided by role models--people who inspire you to go above and beyond. Many of my former teachers are part of my personal history. Before I began my associate degree in EE I was already engaged in hardware experimentation. In other words, by reading amateur electronics publications, I already knew way more than I was supposed to when I entered the field as a student. That helped quite a bit with the academic curriculum. I remember this particular test in embedded software. I had spent countless hours in the lab develop...