The Electrified Skies: Battery Design Challenges for Electric Aircraft

In this week’s podcast, we are investigating the challenges of designing batteries for electric aircraft with Dr. Graham Dudgeon from MathWorks. Graham has some great insights on how modeling and simulation are helping aerospace engineers tackle the thermal, electrical, and mechanical complexities of these cutting-edge power systems. Graham and I also chat about … Read More → "The Electrified Skies: Battery Design Challenges for Electric Aircraft"

Efficient Computer’s Efficient Computer is 100X More Energy Efficient than Other General-Purpose Processors

I remember the heady days of the 1970s, when new and exciting 8-bit processor architectures were sprouting like metaphorical mushrooms. I’m sure that, like me, you are thinking of little beauties like the 8008 (1972), 8080 (1974), and 8085 (1976) from Intel, the 6800 (1974) from Motorola, the 6502 (1975) from MOS Technology, and the Z80 (1976) from Zilog.

However, there were many other contenders that deserve mention, such as the 8-bit PPS-8 (1974) from Rockwell International, which … Read More → "Efficient Computer’s Efficient Computer is 100X More Energy Efficient than Other General-Purpose Processors"

Fish Fry Special Edition: Amelia’s Favorite Episodes for 2025

People frequently ask me if I have a favorite podcast episode. Well folks, here are my favorites for 2025! The top of the list is an episode called “Have Your Cake and Eat The Batteries too!. In this episode, I explore how fungi can function as organic memory devices, the details of RoboCake, a multi-tiered dessert featuring various edible components and the world’ … Read More → "Fish Fry Special Edition: Amelia’s Favorite Episodes for 2025"

January 14, 2026
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featured chalk talk

Power-over-Coax (PoC): Solutions for Automotive SerDes
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and TDK
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Erik Landi from TDK and Amelia Dalton explore the impact PoC communication has had on automotive innovation, the benefits TDK Power over Coax solutions can bring to your next design, and where PoC technology is headed in the future.
Jan 12, 2026
2,094 views

featured video

Revolutionizing AI Chip Development: Synopsys Solutions for the Future

Sponsored by Synopsys

In the AI era, demand for advanced chips is soaring, creating scaling and power challenges. Discover how Synopsys accelerates AI chip development with innovative solutions, robust partnerships, and cutting-edge silicon IP for first-pass silicon success.

Click here for more information

discussion
Posted on Jan 14 at 10:52am by monsonite
I disagree, the 74181 was a convenient kludge. It is long dead - so no need to worship it anymore. If you don't nail your colours to its mast, you can probably come up with something much better for a lower transistor count. How about 40 simple gates, for something that is ...
Posted on Jan 14 at 10:37am by monsonite
Max, I will link your blog to all my members in Minimalist Computing. Part of the groups' activities is to study early, simpler machines, and find ways to implement them using readily available parts. We try to stick to a list of 60 or so 74HC parts that can still be ...
Posted on Jan 14 at 8:01am by Max Maxfield
WOW! That IS tasty -- Led-Transistor Logic (LTL) -- who would have "thunk"?
Posted on Jan 14 at 7:59am by Max Maxfield
Not yet -- it's evolving as we speak -- we just added the ability to select between 8-bit and 12-bit addressing. Just to add to the fun, we can switch the addressing mode under program control on the fly (that should give disassemblers a bit of a headache LOL). Just ...
Posted on Jan 14 at 7:54am by Max Maxfield
This is very interesting -- re the shifts and rotates, rather than a 194 shift register, I was planning on implementing them via combinatorial logic in the form of multiplexers -- re the Facebook group, I'm not on Facebook, but I'm sure many other readers of this column are.
Posted on Jan 14 at 4:42am by monsonite
You might be interested in this modern equivalent. Each gate has a forward biassed LED built into the base circuit of the transistor inverter. Not only does it provide an essential voltage hurdle, which improves noise immunity, but every gate lights up. This hackaday project built a very small 8-bit ...
Posted on Jan 14 at 4:34am by monsonite
Do you have any further online documentation of what you propose?
Posted on Jan 14 at 3:51am by monsonite
You are correct that the 74xx181 has been obsolete for years, and also correct that it had many "odd" functions. The currently available 74HC283 is a 4-bit fast adder, and is a better starting point for arithmetic operations such as ADD, ADC, SUB, SUBB, CMP, INC, DEC etc. For the ...
Posted on Jan 13 at 1:01pm by Max Maxfield
I was chatting with Joe about the idea of creating a little program that combines address mode switching with recursion with self-modifying code -- that will make your eyes water LOL
Posted on Jan 13 at 12:58pm by Max Maxfield
If you perform any 4-bit logic operation (AND, OR, XOR), it will set the N and Z flags. If you perform a COMP (compare), it will set the O, N, Z, and C flags to represent A > B, A < B, A == B (== 0), and A == B (!= 0). The clever thing is that ...
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featured blogs
Jan 13, 2026
The last thing I need at the moment is yet another project, but I'm sorely tempted by the Framework Laptop 12 DIY Edition....
eUSB2 Redriver (Non-Retiming Repeater)
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Dong Nguyen from NXP and Amelia Dalton explore the features of NXP’s PTN3222 eUSB Redriver. They investigate how it overcomes signal integrity challenges and why it’s the ideal solution for ensuring seamless compatibility between your cutting-edge silicon and the world of standard USB 2.0.
Jan 12, 2026
28 views
High-Speed FAKRA-Mini Interconnect System
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In this episode of Chalk Talk, Kirk Ulery from Molex and Amelia Dalton explore the trends driving a need for external and internal data connections in automotive applications. They also investigate the benefits of the FAKRA Mini interconnect system and why the new locking and shielding mechanisms make this system rugged enough for the harshest automotive environments.
Dec 22, 2025
47,611 views
Simplifying Position Control with Advanced Stepper Motor Driver
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Jiri Keprda from STMicroelectronics and Amelia Dalton explore the benefits of the powerSTEP01 is a system-in-package from STMicroelectronics. They also examine how this solution can streamline overall position control architecture, the high level commands included in this solution and the variety of advanced diagnostics included in the powerSTEP01 system-in-package.
Jan 21, 2025
31,008 views