Clive "Max" Maxfield
Clive "Max" Maxfield (www.clivemaxfield.com/
Max began his career as a designer of central processing units (CPUs) for mainframe computers. Over the years, he has designed all sorts of interesting "stuff" from silicon chips to circuit boards and brainwave amplifiers to Steampunk Prognostication Engines (don't ask). He has also been at the forefront of electronic design automation (EDA) for more than 40 years.
Max moved to America in 1990. He’s written several books (search for “Clive Maxfield” on Amazon) and his numerous technical articles have appeared in a wide variety of electronics and computing magazines.
In addition to being a freelance technical consultant and writer, Max is currently CTO of the LogiSwitch switch debounce company (www.logiswitch.com) and editor of Designing Electronics North America (DENA) (www.designing-electronics.com
Incremental Rotary Encoders
Status: Available NowIncremental rotary encoders are either something you know about, or you don’t. This is, of course, true of everything, but more-so in the case of these little scamps.
Most people come into contact with these rotary encoding rascals many times each day without even realizing it or thinking about it. Not-so-long ago, for example, the volume control on your car radio was implemented using a potentiometer. This had a smooth motion and a limited rotational range of say 270 degrees. Today, this function will almost invariably have been replaced with an incremental rotary encoder that has a tactile “click-click-click” feel as it turns, and that has no limit on how far you can rotate it clockwise or widdershins.
The cheap-and-cheerful versions of these devices, which are proliferating everywhere, are mechanical in nature. Although conceptually simple, their internal mechanisms vary wildly, while their switch bounce characteristics can make your eyes water.
In this MicroTalk, we will take a short, sharp plunge into the world of incremental rotary encoders, answering all the questions you never even thought to ask.
Mysteries of the Ancients: Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD)
Status: Available NowIt has to be acknowledged that growing old is not as much fun as I had hoped it would be. Having said this, one of the great things about being old (I’m clutching at straws) is that you end up having learned a whole lot of “stuff” about a whole lot of “stuff” (some of this stuff may even be useful).
When most people hear the term “binary-coded decimal (BCD),” they think “I know all about that” (they usually don’t) and “no one uses BCD anymore” (you’d be amazed how much they do).
Apart from anything else, engineers in the early days of digital computing had to do a lot of “stuff” using not much “stuff,” as it were. As such, BCD provides a great platform to introduce all sorts of cunning tricks, many of which may prove to be useful in modern designs.
In this presentation, we will dive headfirst into the BCD fray with gusto and abandon (and aplomb, of course). As is usually the case in my presentations, we will be leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young mountain goats, so I urge all attendees to dress appropriately and responsibly.
Live Q&A - Mysteries of the Ancients: Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD)
Status: Available NowLive Q&A with Clive "Max" Maxfield for the talk titled Mysteries of the Ancients: Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD)
Mindboggling Technologies of Today and Tomorrow
Status: Available NowOne of the great things about being me (in addition to my dashing good looks and trend-setting sense of style) is that -- based on the fact that I write about high-tech topics for various online publications, coupled with my providing technical writing and consulting services to a cornucopia of high-tech companies -- I get to hear about many of the latest and greatest technologies before they appear on the market (I also get to write long sentences).
Even better, I’m not tied to any subject sector or technological territory; instead, I’m free to meander around gathering noteworthy nuggets of knowledge and tasty tidbits of trivia. At any particular time, you may find me learning about something like a new artificial intelligence neural network processor, after which I might find myself up to my armpits in virtual reality, and just a little later I could well be feasting my orbs on next-generation camera-sensor combos that are only 1 mm thick for use in state-of-the-art machine vision systems -- and all of this before I’ve had my breakfast.
In this presentation, we will take a tour around a curated selection of the weird and wonderful things I’ve been exposed to recently, including anything I’ve found interesting or has made me exclaim, “Ooh, Shiny!” As is usually the case in my presentations, we will be leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young mountain goats, so I urge you to dress appropriately and responsibly.
Live Q&A - Mindboggling Technologies of Today and Tomorrow
Status: Available NowLive Q&A with Clive "Max" Maxfield for the talk titled Mindboggling Technologies of Today and Tomorrow
What the FAQ is Switch Bounce & Debounce?
Status: Available NowSwitches bounce -- that's what they do. To ensure our processors don't "see" multiple events, we have to debounce these signals, which we can do in hardware or software. Unfortunately, this is something of an arcane area because there are as many different approaches as there are engineers (some of them even work). In this MicroTalk, we will plunge into this esoteric topic with gusto and abandon, so please ensure you are wearing appropriate attire.
Not Your Grandmother's Embedded Systems
Status: Available NowSince this is a conference about embedded systems, and assuming most of the attendees have something to do with developing these systems, one might think there is some level of expectation that everyone taking part could agree on a definition as to exactly what is (and isn’t) an embedded system. Ah, if only life were so simple.
In this wide-ranging presentation, Max will first rend the veils asunder and make you look at embedded systems from a new perspective. Next, he will briefly consider the evolution of embedded systems leading to today’s state-of-the-art embedded technologies. Finally, he will cogitate, contemplate, and ruminate as to where we are headed in embedded space (where no one can hear you scream).
Max warns that participants will be leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young mountain goats, so he strongly recommends that attendees dress appropriately.
Live Q&A - Not Your Grandmother's Embedded Systems
Status: Available NowLive Q&A with Clive "Max" Maxfield for the talk titled Not Your Grandmother's Embedded Systems
What the FAQ is an FPGA (2020)
Status: Available NowA lot of people design embedded systems. Some of them are the hardware design engineers who create the boards. Others are the software developers who program the boards. The one thing that most of them have in common (apart from mutual distrust of each other) is that they predominantly use microcontrollers (MCUs) as the primary processing element in their designs.
Most of them have heard of FPGAs, but all they typically know is that these devices can be programmed to perform different functions -- they don't know how. Similarly, most of them have heard about languages like Verilog and VHDL, but all they typically know is that FPGA designers use these languages to capture the design -- they don't know how these hardware description languages (HDLs) differ from programming languages like C/C++.
In this presentation, engineer, writer, and communicator Max The Magnificent (a legend in his own lunchtime) will rend the veils asunder and reveal all. Max says that we will be leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young mountain goats, so he urges attendees to dress appropriately.
Live Discussion - What the FAQ is an FPGA (2020)
Status: Available NowThis is your chance to chat with Max about FPGA's, Embedded Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, and any of your other burning questions.