Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #05240



To: "'beam@sgiblab.sgi.com'" beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Wilf Rigter Wilf.Rigter@powertech.bc.ca
Date: Sat, 10 Jul 1999 13:02:42 -0700
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Something funny with the 1382 voltage triggers?



content-type: text/plain

Since this specifically mentions my name, will thrust myself back into the
fray. Steven, I submit that "tinkering" is the natural process of evolution
through selective incorporation of random mutations. That selection process
through reproductive success occurs in NATURE as well as BEAM land. With
nature's great experiment in consciousness and the ability for abstract
thought, symbols and language there are many other selection processes
available for evolution. But on a fundamental level they are still very
much "what if" tinkering. When speaking of circuits, some very simple
building blocks like the standard CMOS oscillator example in CMOS data books
have been cloned a billion times with minor mutations to adapt it to
specific applications. How's that for reproductive success! So when one such
mutation comes along which uses the same number of parts but adapts this
popular design to a new environment perhaps one could hope for a similar
success rate ( barring the technological equivalent of a mass extinction
event).

<>
There is authentic sense of beauty in simplicity and elegance and this
circuit has plenty of that (oxymoron?) I find it remarkable that after the
scrutiny of millions of designers, there are still new useful combinations
of these 4 or 5 components. This inherent flexibility in simplicity is an
unconventional and counter-intuitive conclusion. Conventional wisdom would
have it that complex designs are required to provide solutions to complex
problems. My lifelong experience has shown me that only the simplest
solution withstands the test of Occam's Razor. Furthermore, that if the
simplest solution is a relatively complex system then if the components and
subsystems of such complex system are simple, in my experience, in such a
system there is always an exponential increase in functionality for a linear
increase in complexity because the number of combination and permutations of
subsystem connections increases exponentially. The root of this
functionality remains the optimized subsystems approach and certainly not
complexity of the system for the sake of complexity. Aside from many
biological examples, one relatively complex circuit example of this is my
ZX97 project, a reverse engineered, much improved version of the ZX81 legacy
personal computer which can be seen at:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rodneyk/


Wilf Rigter mailto:wilf.rigter@powertech.bc.ca
tel: (604)590-7493
fax: (604)590-3411

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steven Bolt [SMTP:sbolt@xs4all.nl]
> Sent: Saturday, July 10, 1999 2:03 AM
> To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
> Subject: Re: Something funny with the 1382 voltage triggers?
>
> On Fri, 9 Jul 1999, Terry Newton wrote:
>
> > Could be SM 1381's don't like having their low output being
> > pulled high by something else, that's not exactly something
> > you want to do with output stages. If you try that with any
> > kind of power you'll likely get smoke or other flakiness.
>
> The typical 2-transistor latch/driver wastes about 4mA max. when
> pulling an active low 1381 output to the about 0.7 allowed by the
> base-emitter diode of the driver transistor. Imho not enough to do
> damage, and not very significant in terms of efficiency, for this
> circuit...
>
> > If that's the problem then maybe just a single resistor,
> ---8<---
> > A 1N914 in series with the 1381 output (anode to 1381, cathode
> ---8<---
>
> With all those resistors and diodes being added by Wilf, Bob and
> you, the component count is about what you need for a proper latch
> and driver :)
>
> Best,
>
> Steve
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> # sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>


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