From: "Jim Hampton" on Fri 22 Jul 2005 04:00

wrote in message
roups.com...
From: Jim Hampton on Jul 21, 9:21 pm
wrote in message
From: Jim Hampton on Jul 21, 3:44 pm
"an_old_friend" wrote in message


Hello, Len

[ on memory in digital stuff ]

They don't call it "random" for nothing ))

RANDOM access memory is a term that came from the prehistory
days of computing such as the magnetic drum memory, a sort of
electromechanical version of a shift register. The F-106
interceptor fire control system [by Hughes] had a vacuum tube
digital computer with a magnetic drum memory, circa 1957. I
was in on environmental testing of that fire control system
at Hughes, primarily the radar and missle launch control parts.

The first mass memory things were magnetic tape transports,
then "hard" magneitc disks in addition to somewhat large
solid-state shift registers. All of those had to go through
an ordered sequence of data storage to reach the desired data.
RANDOM access memory took a while to develop manufacturing
processes for large memory storage on a chip. RAM is like the
old "crossbar" telephone switching that enables control of the
exact "position" of data storage at will. No sequencing
through other data to get to what you want.

Put a micro$oft operating system with it and you have a perfect random
machine.

The only thing "wrong" with Microsoft is that Bill Gates and
Paul Allen got into the monopoly business FIRST. :-)

Everyone else bitches and moans about MS because they didn't
get all the megabucks. shrug

I'm just getting started on actual Windows programming and have
come to appreciate the enormous flexibility/programmability of
the Windows32 system. There's a lot more to it than just some
flashy GUI and it has enormous potential beyond the booring
PR squibs in the newsstand magazines on "computing."

What ever happened to bubble memory? With my beer intake, I have a
reasonable fascimile of bubble memory.

Magnetic bubble memory, splashy though it was in countless little
PR squibs, just never got into reliable nanosecond read/write
times nor did the manufacturing process result in high yields
of really MASS memory.

Bubble memory went flat when the FLASH and extraordinary-
low keep-alive power CMOS memory technologies were developed.
Had it been brewed in Milwaukee it might have had a chance.

FLASH memory technology packages have been built by the MILLIONS
and now used all over the world in everything from TV sets to
lawn sprinkler controllers to modern ham HF-VHF-UHF transceivers.
CMOS technology went a couple of plateau magnitudes farther and
resulted in nanosecond-speed digital gates with zilch standby
power requirements as well as huge, huge capacity RAM. The
little watch-fob size "USB disk" portable memory things use up
to half a Gigabyte of CMOS RAM and plug into a USB port for
mass transfer of data. The same things are used in digital
cameras...motion picture cameras that eliminate the need for a
magnetic tape cartridge storage (you can get those for under
$300 at Good Guys or Best Buy)!

Brian Woods' DZ Sienna (and its no-longer-on-sale PSKUBE) use
a single-board PC made by another company. Easily enough RAM
and ROM on that small plug-in PC-on-a-single-board to hold a
half-Gigabyte RAM plus peripheral interface circuitry to do
the Sienna controlling, internal DSP, whatevers, plus whatever
a clever user can adapt (programs written and developed on any
standard PC). Those single-board-PC plug-ins are used in the
electronics industry in all kinds of things, built by at least
a couple dozen USA companies...plus more available from off-
shore designer-makers. There's even more microcontroller and
microprocessor hardware-software on the market from USA
companies, UK companies, Asian companies for everything from
robotics hobby thingies to appliance and precision instrument
control...including at least three monthly periodicals covering
just the subject of hobby robotics. Hobby robotics is an
activity area which has had extraordinary growth and mainly
involves "simple" electronics of the digital kind...but is
adapted with all sorts of home-grown programming of the
PIC and Atmel microcontrollers.

Microchip Corporation here in the southwest has shown a
phenomenal growth pattern over the last decade plus. They
make the PIC series of microcontrollers...plus both CMOS
and FLASH memory plus (now) many kinds of interface devices
for use with their PICs. Economical prices without
scrimping on function or processing speed. [see Allied,
DigiKey, Newark, Mouser catalogs for listings]

Withoutadoubt the BIGGEST use of on-off keyed CW "rigs" is
the keyless auto lock (key fob transmitter) for autos.
Made by the millions, in use today in the millions, damn
good security, "sends" and "receives" at rates far above
the ability of the best-trained, most-experienced USN
radio operator! :-) Far more keyless auto locks now than
the sum total of all "CW" radios put together in the
history of radio. [no, one can't "work DX" on those "CW"
"rigs" but it enables one to get in a vehicle to GO where
lots of that DX is located...] [similarly, you can't get
the security with a "CW" ham rig to open a car or start
the ignition or even open a garage door...it ain't fast
enough and the "CW op" can't do the math to set or decode
that kind of code] Little battery inside is said to be
good for five years of "normal use" in the Chebby Malibu
MAXX my wife and I got three weeks ago. Love it! Love
that "control panel" on it and all its features, all
possible with microcontrollers and digital devices and
sensors all over the car. Drives well, too. :-)