Reverse engineering CMOS, illustrated with a vintage Soviet counter chip
I recently came across an interesting die photo of a Soviet1 chip, probably designed in the 1970s. This article provides an introductory guide to reverse-engineering CMOS circuits, using this chip as an example. Although the chip looks like a tangle of lines at first, its large features and simple layout make it possible to understand its circuits. I'll first explain how to recognize the individual transistors. Groups of transistors are connected in standard patterns to form CMOS gates, multiplexers, flip-flops, and other circuits. Once these building blocks are understood, reverse-engineering the full chip becomes practical. The chip turned out to be a 4-bit CMOS counter, a copy of the...
Cynthion Design Work Completed
Note: This is a crosspost of a Cynthion update on Crowd Supply: https://www.crowdsupply.com/great-scott-gadgets/cynthion/updates/cynthion-design-work-completed
We are happy to say that early this month we completed the design work for Cynthion! This milestone is the culmination of yet another three months’ worth of work. Since our October update we have:
revisited the EMC testing lab for another round of pre-compliance testing,
used the EMC testing results to improve signal integrity on Cynthion and produce another hardware revision,
ordered another revision of the Cynthion enclosure prototypes,
designed and ordered prototypes of the Cynthion packaging,
produced another Cynthion hardware revision to fix minor issues,
rearranged the Cynthion schematic,
updated documentation in Cynthion-related...
Minimal Fab Special Award
In November of last year, I participated in the Minimal Fab Design Contest for SemiCon Japan 2023. You can find more about my submission and Minimal Fab in this previous blog post.
At the time I wasn't expecting too much, it was already fun to submit my design.
Shortly after, I was informed that I would receive the Minimal Fab Special Award for my design! The organization comittee was even so kind as to send me the certificate and a wafer.
It's a wafer with the Minimal Fab mascot made of Au/Ti/Si substrate. What amazes me the most is just how tiny it is 🤩️
Due to...
Ламповый дисплей для компьютера, часть 4: блок питания, строчная развертка и первый растр
Краткое содержание предыдущих статей цикла:
Часть 1 – обзор возможных концепций и постановка задачи
Часть 2 – запуск ЭЛТ и фокусировка электронного пучка в ней
Часть 3 – построение канала синхронизации и блока кадровой развертки
В этой части будет рассказ о тех электронных узлах, которые я создавал дальше, а именно — описание окончательного оформления блока питания, переделки источника высокого напряжения кинескопа, строчной развертки и получения первого растра.
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Bus Pirate 5 is here!
Bus Pirate 5 is the latest version of the multi-tool hackers trust since 2018. RP2040-based, color LCD, 1-5volt power supply and IO buffers, and more! Firmware, hardware and a fresh new forum are hosted at BusPirate.com, which I rescued from spammers a few years ago.
The software on this server (Dangerous Prototypes) is seriously outdated and there’s a load bearing laptop somewhere in the config, it was easiest to start over with all the latest tools. Soon this site will be ripped to a flat file/static site and archived.
Hardware docsFirmware docsGet Bus Pirate 5A Bus Pirate forumA new blog, kind...Analysis of the Gen2 Addressable RGB LED Protocol
The WS2812 has been around for a decade and remains highly popular, alongside its numerous clones. The protocol and fundamental features of the device have only undergone minimal changes during that time.
However, during the last few years a new technology dubbed “Gen2 ARGB” emerged for use in RGB-Illumination for PC, which is backed by the biggest motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan. This extension to the WS2812 protocol allows connecting multiple strings in parallel to the same controller in addition to diagnostic read out of the LED string.
Not too much is known about the protocol and the supporting LED. However, recently...
Outage January 21st
We regret to inform you that we are currently experiencing an outage in our main cluster. We are currently actively investigating the cause of this issue. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience during this time.
Ручная работа со стеклом. Резка трубчатых заготовок, бутылок
Обычно мастер-самодельщик сталкивается в своей работе со стеклом листовым. Цилиндрические заготовки — стеклянные палочки, капилляры, трубочки, трубки и ТРУБЫ могут использоваться в техническом творчестве или декоративно-прикладном искусстве (ДПИ) при работах экзотических. Очень популярная задача — резка стеклянной тары — банок, бутылок. И, конечно, стеклянное приборостроение, дела стеклодувные. Область бытия, где разносортные и разнокалиберные трубочки и палочки — основные заготовки для любых, даже самых сложных и замысловатых работ. И резка их — первейший навык. Полюбопытствовать
Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist
Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist to Accelerate Development of Next Generation Art and Handwriting Machines
Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman of Evil Mad Scientist named CTO and COO of Bantam Tools
PEEKSKILL, N.Y, January 16, 2024 — Bantam Tools, the desktop CNC manufacturer that builds exceptional computer controlled machines for innovators, is excited to announce the acquisition of Evil Mad Scientist, the designer and manufacturer of popular computer-controlled drawing and handwriting machines that provide versatile solutions to artists and educators. Dr. Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman, co-founders of Sunnyvale, California based Evil Mad Scientist, will move to Peekskill, New York, headquarters...
Inside the mechanical Bendix Air Data Computer, part 3: pressure transducers
The Bendix Central Air Data Computer (CADC) is an electromechanical analog computer that uses gears and cams for its mathematics. It was a key part of military planes such as the F-101 and the F-111 fighters, computing airspeed, Mach number, and other "air data". This article reverse-engineers the two pressure transducers, on the right in the photo below. It is part 3 of my series on the CADC.1
The Bendix MG-1A Central Air Data Computer with the case removed, showing the compact gear mechanisms inside. Click this image (or any other) for a larger version.Aircraft have determined airspeed from air pressure for over a century. A port in...