Are bad-cap brands getting better?

[Digital Technophile]

Re: Are bad-cap brands getting better?

x3. Yet another area of expertise that is found wanting. Assembly is handy to know (don't know BASIC well enough to compare), I know from past experiences with BIOS modding (no, I was toooo chicken to try) about those "calls", eax push and mov, but I've never really been dirty handed enough to do something useful enough to warrant going beyond a simple understanding. Then I read a book that might as well been written in Portugese (some people's writing can make me very, very sleeeepy).

PHP I've had a better understanding of, but like all languages (including human), if you're not using it on a daily, forgetfulness begins creeping in; I haven't really done any of it for over two years' now.

@sevarch: Yes BASIC,C++,Javascript,Python,etc. "DO" the same thing, the distinct difference is assembly requires no compiler and is what is considered low-level programming where hardware (like PIC, PC BIOS, etc.) can read code directly.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Are bad-cap brands getting better?

On a limited resources micro like a PIC, you're gonna have to drop down to assembly for critical routines anyway, regardless if your main program is in BASIC, C, or whatever else. So you might as well do it properly the first time round.

PIC assembly is quite a bit different from x86 btw.

Anyway, i got an LCD running. I think i'm going to do something similar to this meter but since i've already started on a different (and bigger) micro i'll probably drop a few extra features in. No, i'm not telling what they are. Not yet. The circuit is AC coupled so it should work for what i'm trying to do, but you never know. Well, at least it won't blow up.

I'm going to code the whole thing myself, because all the LCD routines i found on the net needed substantial re-engineering to even initialize the display properly, at this point the screen is running on my very own display routine. It's based on this one somewhat, but a lot of things have been changed. Luckily both my micro (PIC16F876A) and the Pickit 2 programmer support in-circuit debugging, it makes adapting existing code less of a guessing game. For example, this guy's delay routine got stuck in an endless loop in my PIC. And that's just ONE of the wrongs i found.

Anyway, i'm going part hunting. I'll keep you updated. Edit: Found just what i wanted. Take a look. http://ro.farnell.com/microchip/mcp4...sop/dp/1840755 And hey, it's the same price as a regular pot. Now, take a wild guess as to what i'm going to control with it.

[Digital Technophile]

Re: Are bad-cap brands getting better?

On a limited resources micro like a PIC, you're gonna have to drop down to assembly for critical routines anyway, regardless if your main program is in BASIC, C, or whatever else. So you might as well do it properly the first time round.

PIC assembly is quite a bit different from x86 btw.

That's my point exactly and no matter if you're working with PIC, 80x86, or whatever else is out there, assembly works directly on the machine without an interpreter.
And just to prove my limited electronics experience, I never knew there was such a thing as a digital potentiometer- very cool.

Perhaps we should continue this discussion under a more aptly named thread as we've obviously gone waaaaaaay off-topic!

[Agent24]

Re: Are bad-cap brands getting better?

OCZ, Antec and others...are using lots of CapXons, OSTs, Su'scons, Teapos etc.

None of them are Fuhjyyus by any stretch, but are they getting better?

Pretty sure my friend has an Antec Basiq 350 with Fuhjyyus in it.

But Antec have a history of using crap capacitors... and I wouldn't trust any of their supplies unless they're top of the line with Japanese capacitors.