Android is a rising mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google. Google opened the entire source code (including network and telephony stacks) under an Apache License. Android has been available as open source since 21 October 2008. Android allows developers to →
A modern Audio-Video amplifier/receiver (AVR) is an exceedingly complex piece of consumer electronics, requiring expertise in many aspects of analogue and digital audio and high definition video, plus considerable software skills. ‘The anatomy of a modern audio-video amplifier’ lecture by John Dawson from Arcam for Audio Engineering Society UK is an interesting talk on engineering →
Computer keyboards are peripherals partially modeled after the typewriter and designed both for the input of text and characters and also to control the operation of a computer. Keyboards can arrive in many shapes or sizes. 14 Cool Computer Keyboards for Geeks shows you a set of extraordinary and interesting computer keyboard designs currently available →
AV Science Forum has an interesting posting on Ayre DX-5 blueray player. The article claims that Ayre DX-5 bluray player is a modified Oppo BDP-83 blueray player and even describes the modifications made to the device. Interesting article indeed to read, although I am a pretty skeptic would those modifications be worth of all of →
Build Your Own Digicomp Mechanical Computer! tells about a plastic mechanical computer from the 1960s. It offered three bits of tabletop computing, back in an age where corded telephones were considered high-tech. According the article Digicomp started a bunch of kids on a career in computers. Now a member of “Friends of Digicomp” Yahoo Group →
I had yesterday change to play a little bit with Nokia N900 mobile communicator at at Expert Expo in Helsinki. This brand new Nokia smartphone that you can’t yet buy anywhere, just pre-order. This device runs on Maemo Linux operating system and worked well. This device felt much better than Nokia N97. The tough screen →
Isolator for digital audio is needed in cases where coaxial S/PDIF digital audio link forms a ground loop in your audio system. Typically in coaxial S/PDIF connections the coaxial cable shield is connected to equipment cases. This arrangement easily creates ground loops which can cause noise problems in various places in audio system. A suitable →
Ground loops are a common problem in many experimental setups. A ground loop is an un- wanted closed loop of cables in the setup, most often through the ground system. Those ground loops are often hard to find and debug. A Ground Loop Detector document describes how to build and test a simple system to →
A normal way to troubleshoot ground loops problems in audio systems is to listen to the audio signal at the mixer with headphones. If the buzz exists at the mixer then do the following: One by one, disconnect the inputs and outputs to and from the mixer and note if the buzz decreases. This same →
Video isolation transformers are primarily used in CCTV application in fields of security, manufacturing, avionics and display. The video isolation transformer is an extremely broad bandpass 1:1 isolation transformer. Its hum isolation is very good and it can sustain very high noise voltages without degradation. Isolation decreases with increasing noise frequency. Video signals can transformer →