TODO:
- Create a TODO List
Preliminary list:
Hardware design
- Mini Digital board (main board)
- Build/test/debug the second iteration, and finalize the design. Order a few hundred
- Mini Analog board (parameter-analyzer converter
- Build/test/debug quick-and-dirty version
- Make new revision with
- Bug fixes
- Better layout
- More power-supply independent
- Cheaper, more accurate, etc.
- Eventually, high-speed board. Probably FPGA+high speed DAC/ADC. Ideally: $50 price point, capable of 100MSPS scope and function generator, 10 bits accuracy at DC, 6-8 bits at high-speed. Alternative architecture: Possibly, SRAM directly talking to ADC/DAC. Clock driving SRAM+ADC+DAC. Computer can read from SRAM. This version needs filters for frequency range (FPGA version could store min/max, and computer could draw a bar)
Firmware design
- Rewrite the Mini microcode so that it is:
- Interrupt-based, for performance
- Port or rewrite parameter analyzer code to the Mini
- Optionally, make a super-accurate version that does slow conversions, and sleeps during the conversion
- ...
Software design
- Write server integrated into iLabs architecture
- Port existing clients to work with the Mini, or write new clients.
Architectural design
Long-term: Design a safe architecture where the server is generic to different kinds of experiments (op-amp, parameter analyzer, etc.). This should still do enough parsing that the client should not be able to cause buffer overflows, overvoltage conditions, etc. on the Mini.
Pedagogical
- Design labs around the Mini.