From: jl@glen--canyon.com   
      
   On Mon, 1 Dec 2025 00:28:19 +1100, Bill Sloman    
   wrote:   
      
   >On 30/11/2025 4:56 pm, john larkin wrote:   
   >> On Sat, 29 Nov 2025 11:17:12 -0800, Joerg    
   >> wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On 11/29/25 3:38 AM, Bill Sloman wrote:   
   >>>> On 29/11/2025 8:56 am, Joerg wrote:   
   >>>>> On 11/28/25 1:32 PM, Joe Gwinn wrote:   
   >>>>>> On Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:52:07 -0800, Joerg    
   >>>>>> wrote:   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>>> On 11/28/25 12:45 PM, Joerg wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> [...]   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>>>> To the surprise of my clients it's the contrary. The most   
   >>>>>>>> client-shocking redesign was an auto-align circuit for ganged   
   >>>>>>>> ADC-channels. High speed, high phase accuracy and all that. They   
   >>>>>>>> had an   
   >>>>>>>> elaborate time domain method with a fat DSP, lots of code and very   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>    I meant they used a frequency domain method.   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>> expensive chips used as programmable delay chips. The NRE alone had   
   >>>>>>>> been   
   >>>>>>>> humongous. It never reliably converged so the system hung a lot. I   
   >>>>>>>> suggested to ditch all that and use time domain. This caused an uproar   
   >>>>>>>> because I had rocked the boat a lot and usually consultants aren't   
   >>>>>>>> supposed to do that. "I don't think this can possibly work", "It won't   
   >>>>>>>> deliver the accuracy", "It won't converge either" and all that.   
   >>>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>>> Yet the boss let me do it. In the end the whole thing dropped from   
   >>>>>>>> three-digit dollars in HW to under 10 bucks. Instead of expensive   
   >>>>>>>> discrete-step time delay chips I used inductors, caps and varicap   
   >>>>>>>> diodes   
   >>>>>>>> for almost infinite granularity. The DSP became unemployed because the   
   >>>>>>>> connected PC could easily handle the computations. It converged in   
   >>>>>>>> less   
   >>>>>>>> than a second, always. The NRE was low because it took less than two   
   >>>>>>>> weeks of my time and less than a day for the programmer, and we didn't   
   >>>>>>>> need an expensive DSP programmer.   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> Embarrassing.  Were any of the customers design team later   
   >>>>>> defenstrated?   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> No, they were pretty good. It's the usual phenomenon where, in an old   
   >>>>> German saying, you can't see the forest because of all the trees.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Brainstorming is designed to get around that to some extent, but if you   
   >>>> aren't used to thinking outside the box it's difficult to step back far   
   >>>> enough to get outside the box.   
   >>>>   
   >>>   
   >>> My experience with brainstorm sessions is not good. The results are   
   >>> often encouraging but then hardly anything of it gets documented and   
   >>> typically none of it is implemented. All I need is a large whiteboard   
   >>> or a large piece of paper. Plus coffee or mate (having a mate right now).   
   >   
   >It's a desperation measure to break up some kind of intellectual log-jam.   
   >   
   >It isn't going to work all that often. Documenting it is a chore, but it   
   >does need to be done   
   >   
   >> Brainstorming is great, done right.   
   >>   
   >> We sign and date our whiteboard scribbles and photograph them and   
   >> stash the pics in the project notes folder.   
   >   
   >Great for people who like visualisation.   
      
   Or are literate.   
      
      
   >   
   >> Our ideas are certainly implemented.   
   >>   
   >> We had a great one last week. I designed a relay/circuit breaker   
   >> module and we came up with a nice way to let user's gang breakers.   
   >   
   >By which you mean what? Tripping one circuit breaker trips associated   
   >circuit breakers? And the user can set up groups, all of which trip at   
   >the same time?   
      
   Yes. Just like pinning a group of real breaker levers together.   
      
   The brainstorm session came up with a nice way to do it in the FPGA   
   without elaborate state machines, and more important, a way to design   
   a user interface that's easy to understand and won't provoke a flood   
   of phone calls for support.   
      
   Here's the product:   
      
   https://highlandtechnology.com/Product/P946   
      
   I figured that a relay module would sell, and then added some current   
   and voltage sensors, and then it turned into a programmable circuit   
   breaker.   
      
   I guess it could do primitive power metering too.   
      
      
      
      
   John Larkin   
   Highland Tech Glen Canyon Design Center   
   Lunatic Fringe Electronics   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)