ChipCorder Programmer

I recently got an inquiry from a college student who is building a senior project using a ChipCorder where he wants to be able to play back roughly 70 individual short messages. The students project is to design a device that "talks" to the user. That is certainly one use that ChipCorders excel at, especially for a quick turn, relatively low volume application.

Unfortunately the one supplier of inexpensive programmers I was aware of no longer seems to be in business: Quadravox.

I asked my contacts at Nuvoton about this and they tell me that the Polish supplier, Marthel (http://www.marthel.pl/en/solutions.php#iprog) still makes programmers for all the ISD versions. I have sent off an email to the folks at Marthel to find out more information regarding their programmers. I'll deliver that info here once I get it.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

ChipCorders with Lithium button cells

I recently had someone ask me about the use of a ChipCorder with a 3 volt lithium button cell. I have seen many applications that used 1 or 2 of these cells in series to power the device. A ChipCorder will work just fine with a lithium button cell (or 2 in series) , if you want to use those batteries. You should note however that the chemistry of those cells dictates a recovery time. That is, as you playback messages continuously, you will see the battery's internal resistance go up and the output will get distorted. If you then wait a view minutes and then play a message, it will again sound OK.

That is, a lithium cell is good for interment duty when driving a ChipCorder and not continuous duty.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

ChipCorders - Which to Choose?

In my last post, I talked about the single message versions of the ChipCorders. All of them are fully self contained devices, just add pushbuttons, microphone and speaker the chip records or plays what ever is in its single memory. There are many applications, however that need multiple messages. There are a lot of ChipCorders to chose from. How do you pick which one to use? Here are a list of questions that will help you zero in on what you need.

1. Does your system already have a speaker driver and a microphone or line input?
Answer: If you already have those parts of your system, you don't need to reproduce them on the ChipCorder. The only "plain" analog memory are the ISD4000 series. These parts have what is essentially a Line-In and Line-out audio interface. They don't have a microphone pre-amp or a speaker driver. They are controlled by an SPI interface with an address resolution of 200 to 400 millseconds. I'll talk more on what that means later. There are 4 different size versions of this part with each having 4 different sample rate offerings. I'll try to explain that later also.

2. Do you have multiple audio inputs you want to mix into and/out of the ChipCorder's analog memory?
Answer: The swiss army knife of ChipCorders is the ISD5100 series. These devices have the same microphone interface as the rest of the ChipCorders but also have 2 other analog inputs, each with 4 different gain settings possible. They also have the standard ChipCorder speaker driver output but additionally have 2 other analog outputs possible. All of the inputs, outputs and analog memory can be configured almost any way, including mixed together. You can even use the on-board anti-aliasing filters in your application for other things beside record and playback.

And if that wasn't enough, all the early mentioned ChipCorders including the afore mentioned ISD4000 series had to be ordered with a fixed sample rate. In the ISD5100 series you can pick your sample rate via software on the fly. Which means you can record some of your messages at one sample rate and others at a different sample rate to maximize the efficiency of the storage area in the part. There are just 4 size versions of the ISD5100 series since you can control the sampe rate via software.

The ISD5100 series is controlled via a two wire I2C interface.

3. Do you need multiple messages but don't want the cost of a micro?
Answer: One of the latest ChipCorders is the ISD1900 series. These parts can be divided into 8 equal length messages where access to each message is controlled by a pin. Or in other words with the correct pin strapping you can build a system with 8 push buttons used to play or record up to 8 individual messages.

Another option is the ISD1700 series which has the best of both worlds (sort of). It has a simple (and a bit crude) multiple message capability. With the chips simple push button interface, you can stack messages in the chip's memory until you run out of space then you can erase the first or last messages and record more. Its sort of a circular memory.

This blog entry is long enough! If you have questions, add a comment to the blog and I'll answer them or get them answered.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

ChipCorders - Where to go for Single Message

For those that need to redesign a project that used an old single message ChipCorder, you have several options. If you need to record and play for a relatively short time, your best bet is the ISD1600B or ISD1800 series products. These products give you simple access to a single message from 6 to 40 seconds according to the internal size of the memory and the sample rate of the device.

Each device has a single pin to control record and the option of 2 pins to initiate PLAY. One pin, PLAY EDGE (PLAYE) starts playback with a momentary pulsed level while the other pin PLAY LEVEL (PLAYL) plays the message as long as the level is held. The ISD1800 uses an active HIGH going pulse or level for record and play while and the ISD1600 uses an active LOW going pulse or level to control the part.

These devices include a simple microphone interface; just add the microphone plus 3 caps and 3 resistors and your done. The speaker is driven directly from 2 pins (don't ground either pin, you can let the smoke out).

I prefer the ISD1600B family because of (in my opinion) less distortion and background hiss and more speaker drive. The ISD1600B family may cost a little bit more but its worth it (again in my opinion). Additionally, the ISD1800 requires a 28 pin package while the ISD1600B uses a 16 pin package. Smaller is better.

I'll cover the multiple message options in a later Blog.

By the way, I don't work for Nuvoton, Winbond or ISD. I'm an independent consultant. I can be reached at joe@jarrett.com.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

ChipCorders - Whats real, whats not

I have been searching around the web to see what other people are saying about ChipCorders. Unfortunately there is a lot of old data floating around regarding ChipCorders that are no longer available. For example, I found a site with a bunch of PDFs for down load with content I wrote for ISD in the early 1990s. This information is totally out of date and covers some products that haven't been available for 10 years.

Let me get one piece of data out immediately. All of the first generation ChipCorders, are gone. This list includes the ISD1000, ISD1016A, ISD1020A, ISD1420, ISD1416, ISD2560, ISD2590, ISD2575, ISD25120, and the ISD1110 . There are probably more like these I've forgotten about. All of these devices were built in non Winbond fabs and those processes haven't been viable for a number of years. You may find some stock in places, but don't do any new designs with these parts. That supply could disappear and there are no replacements.

If you come upon application data on any of these products, its pretty much worthless. None of the newer Nuvoton products are pin and function compatible with the older ones. If you need to respin a product that used one of these older devices, you will have to do some redesign to use the newer (and available) devices.

Helping with these redesigns is part of the reason I set up this Blog.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

Starting a Kit Business

While I'm starting a blog and trying to get some consulting business based on ChipCorders, I think its also time to start a kit business. I have developed one kit that I'm about to productize and we will see where I go from there. You can find the Hill Country Kits blog at http://hillcountrykits.blogspot.com/.

And yes, I'm thinking about some ChipCorder kits. What would you like to see? Add a comment if you have ideas.

I own hillcountrykits.com by the way.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

Hanging out the shingle

I'm getting some consulting work now helping people out with ChipCorder designs. If you have older designs with these products, you probably know that ISD (bought by Winbond that then changed their name to Nuvoton) has discontinued almost all of the older ChipCorder products. The part numbers ISD1000, ISD1016, ISD1020, ISD1420, ISD1110, ISD2560, ISD2590, and an increasing list of other products are now gone.

They haven't discontinued any of the long duration products that I'm aware of. So the ISD4000 series (up to 16 minutes of record time), The Swiss army knife of ChipCorders the ISD5008, and other products of that vintage are still around. Of course they have spun other products to replace the old ChipCorders. You can look at the Nuvoton product site at http://www.nuvoton.com/hq/enu/ProductAndSales/ProductLines/ConsumerElectronicsIC/ISDVoiceIC/ISDChipCorder/ and see whats offered today. Unfortunately, none of the new short duration ChipCorders are exact drop in replacements to the discontinued parts.

And thats where I can probably help the most, i.e. converting old designs to the new and available parts. Drop me a note on the Blog here and I'll get in touch.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

Chip Corder Help

My Resume is posted, what next? The part that needs highlighting is the time I spent at the Application helm of ISD. You may recall, ISD made the "tape recorder on a chip" chips. In a single package you could have 16, 20, 90 seconds, or even as much as 16 minutes of recordable, re recordable, erasable, addressable sound storage. I was employee number 10 of that start up and was involved in almost every major advancement as products got larger and more flexible.

That is where my value as a consultant lies. I'm hoping some companies out there need design help with those products. That I can do easily.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

Resume

Boyce W. (Joe) Jarrett
13411 Overland Pass
Austin, Texas 78738
Phone: Home: (512) 263-5349, Cell: (512) 576-0244

Experienced customer centric Engineer with a background in analog, digital, hardware and software, a proven track record in both applications management and marketing, and 17+ years of direct customer contact in the technical sales process.

Talent Summary:
·17+ years of experience in technical field sales support (FAE) in a design-win focused environment selling semiconductor ICs into a wide range of markets.
· Supported numerous distributors with product presentations, training and joint customer visits at sites all over the Americas, Europe and Asia.
· Extensive experience in writing and editing application notes and other customer support collateral.
· Presented technical seminars at numerous locations around the globe.
· Design experience with testing, process control, A/D and D/A converters, analog and digital communications systems, and design of robotic systems.
“I have worked with and managed Joe for the past 5 years. His level of customer support for all matters is excellent, and he will take ownership for any/all questions or problems needing resolution even if it is outside of his areas of expertise. Joe builds great relationships with the engineers in his accounts, and is a great field asset for any company.” April 7, 2008
Peter Himes (VP Sales & Customer Service at Winbond Electronics Corporation)

WORK HISTORY SUMMARY:
Field Applications Engineer 17+ years
Manager and then Director of Factory Applications 4 years
Hardware and Software Design Consultant, 4 ½ years
Marketing Manager Telecommunications Products 4 years
Product Engineer 3½ years

Complete WORK HISTORY
Winbond Electronics Corporation America
ISD (Information Storage Devices) Acquired by Winbond in 1998
Field Applications Manager (7+ years)
· Technical field sales support.
· Present technical seminars to design engineers.
· Interfaced with component engineering to obtain component qualification for Winbond products.
· Perform one-on-one design consulting to customer engineers.
· Write application notes and assist the Winbond factory with the definition of new products.
· Support Distributor sales with product presentations, training and joint customer visits.

Director (promoted from Manager) of Factory Applications (4 years)
· Managed a staff of up to 9 engineers and technicians including local direct employees and remote contract employees.
· Managed and participated in the creation of extensive Application notes, reference designs, White Papers (both hardware and software), sales training presentations, and customer product presentations.
· Managed vendors who designed and manufactured programming and demo systems for ISD products.
· Traveled extensively world wide to support and promote ISD products.
· Presented numerous papers on ISD Products in the US, throughout Asia (including interior China), and in Europe.
· Supervised the creation of web and Email based Applications support system for ISD products.

Field Applications Engineer (5½ years) - Left an active consulting business to become employee number 10 in this very successful semiconductor startup. In the early years, was the “entire” Applications Department and was the only FAE for the company during this 6-year period. Authored multiple issues of 80+ page application manual for early ISD products.
While in this position, created IP that resulted in 2 patents: One in an original software algorithm and the other in the main logic core of several of ISD’s long duration audio storage products.
Self Employed full time consultant
· Designed hardware and software for micro controller based products mostly for telecommunications and telephone interconnect systems employing EEproms, DTMF encoders and decoders, telephone line interfaces, and other analog circuitry
Note: Several of these products became the number one seller in their market segment.
· Designed systems in industrial applications that were used in testing, process control and robotics.
· Additional design experience included work with both simple and high-speed A-D converters and remote control of external hardware through serial and parallel communications channels
· One long term project involved remote control of complex hydraulic and electromechanical equipment, and acquisition, storing, displaying and analysis of data through a remote 12 bit multi-channel A to D converter and the software maintenance of safety systems while the equipment was in operation.
Advanced Micro Devices
Product Marketing Manager
· Strategic and tactical marketing for products use in digital switching applications for the telephone industry with a sales backlog that reached $40 million.
· This position included Field Sales interface, new product definition, coordination with production planning and product engineering, design-win and sales strategies, cost analysis and pricing, data sheets and other related product literature.
.
United Technologies Mostek Corporation
Field Applications Engineer (5 ½ years, Florida and Texas)
Communications Marketing Manager (2+ years)
· Strategic and tactical marketing for MOS and CMOS integrated circuits related to communications and telecommunications applications especially in subscriber-loop telephone systems and DTMF encoders and decoders. .
Product Engineer (3+ years)
· Characterized MOS-LSI products to insure maximization of production yields through coordination with Production, Design and Planning.
· Supervised technicians assisting in the performance of these duties
· Worked with Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 Mini-computer controlled tester and wrote PDP-11 assembly language programs.
EDUCATION:
BSEE plus additional post graduate studies at UNIVERSITY of TEXAS at ARLINGTON
Training in communications systems during activity duty in US Naval ReserveCompleted additional courses in C++, Unix and DSP.

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.

Lets Begin

It appears that one of the ways to accomplish things in today's environment is to start a Blog. I want to get the word on on several issues. First, I need a job. I'm not desperate, I'm not ready to head off to McDonalds and put in my application. But I have enjoyed working all of my life and worked for some interesting companies. I would like to work for another 5 to 10 years for another interesting company, then retire. Since 5 years seems to be the limit most people expect from a job these days, that does not sound unreasonable, at least to me.

Second, I have some talent and experience in certain areas which might lead me into more of a consultant role. This blog may help with that; we shall see.

I also plan to post my current Resume since there have been some recruiters who think thats one way to help them find the right person to fill one of their open positions.

For now, I'll close this and see about uploading my Resume!

Note: ChipCorder is a registered trademark of Nuvoton. This blog is an independent effort and in no way connected to Nuvoton.