As a computer science guy who interlops in computer engineering i really want to find time to build something cool like this and tapeout. The retro architectures for rendering are simple but fun! I love the project
I recommend getting started like the author did: simulation first, then FPGA. Honestly FPGA will take you very far. I always get a kick out of being able to design my own SoC. "Hmmm I need 9 separate I2C ports... Ok, copy block, paste paste paste..." Or if you have an operation in software that's taking forever you can write an accelerator for it
It’s amazing and wonderful to see the Internet support these tiny cliques of interest. Having everybody connected leads to homogenization of culture in some ways, but it also supports these couple dozen (?) people around the world finding each other for this amazing little competition.
Having everybody connected leads to homogenization of culture in some ways
The internet may hypothetically homogenize culture relative to a society that does not have any kind of mass communication at all, but relative to the world it was actually introduced into, the internet has completely balkanised the culture. Prior to the internet, we had television, cinema, literature, radio, and newspapers, which were all centralised and controlled enough that they created a shared monoculture in nations. A signifant portion of a country's population would watch, read, and listen to the same media. The internet bucked that trend, allowing all kinds of new subcultures to pop up and to more easily cross national boundaries.
Yeah, back in the day you would go to school the next day after a show that everyone watches released its new episode, it aired on the prime-time slot on the primary TV channel, and you'd discuss what happened in that episode, or have some references or new jokes. Created a common culture.
I thought this was pretty cool but the first video didn't play. All this write up and I really just want to see the damn demo in action first! (Edit: reloaded the page and it worked. I still would like to see it on rela hardware!)
They're a kind of analogue dynamic memory. I'd hesitate to call them RAM because the Access is not Random, but they are a kind of shift register and early computers used those for RAM.
Imagine a pair of MOSFETs connected to a pair of capacitors, and a bunch of those joined together in a chain. All the gates of each one of the pair of MOSFETS are connected together, giving you a "left" and "right" clock input.
When you put a signal in if you pulse the "left" and "right" inputs, it'll store the signal voltage in one capacitor, then pass it off to the next capacitor in turn, like old-timey firefighter handing buckets of water down a line of people.
They used to use this for delaying audio signals before digital memory and analogue to digital conversion was cheap enough to use.
I'm tempted to put together an FPAA with Tiny Tapeout, but it likely won't fit in the allocated area.
As a computer science guy who interlops in computer engineering i really want to find time to build something cool like this and tapeout. The retro architectures for rendering are simple but fun! I love the project
I recommend getting started like the author did: simulation first, then FPGA. Honestly FPGA will take you very far. I always get a kick out of being able to design my own SoC. "Hmmm I need 9 separate I2C ports... Ok, copy block, paste paste paste..." Or if you have an operation in software that's taking forever you can write an accelerator for it
What are the best modern tools to get started with in simulation for those who have never dabbled before?
It’s amazing and wonderful to see the Internet support these tiny cliques of interest. Having everybody connected leads to homogenization of culture in some ways, but it also supports these couple dozen (?) people around the world finding each other for this amazing little competition.
Yeah, back in the day you would go to school the next day after a show that everyone watches released its new episode, it aired on the prime-time slot on the primary TV channel, and you'd discuss what happened in that episode, or have some references or new jokes. Created a common culture.
Reminds me of college: "Hardware and Software are logically equivalent"
No x, no y, just Z is a pattern so often used by chatGPT it has started to bleed into common usage by people who maybe aren't even using an LLM.
Language is fluid. This is ok.
There are many bad things about LLMs, but a benign shift in popular language usage isn't one of them.
Not X, Not Y, just Z. Thanks, brainlet shit, didn't read.
Reminds me of the time we repaired old pinball machines in trade school. Good times.
Wow, I'm looking at current "Open Shuttles", a license to use 4KB of SRAM in the project is $2500. But it comes with Wishbone Bus interface!
> 1024x32 Commercial SRAM > CF_SRAM_1024x32 > Commercial SRAM: 1024 words x > 32 bits (4KB) with Wishbone Bus interface > Area: 0.17mm² > GPIOs: 0 > License: Commercial - $2500 per project
Really cool!
If you have registers, it's not "no memory".
And I better not see any capacitors on there remembering any charge!
If you have flip flops, it's not "no memory".
If you have a ROM, it's not "no memory".
Needlessly pedantic!
I thought this was pretty cool but the first video didn't play. All this write up and I really just want to see the damn demo in action first! (Edit: reloaded the page and it worked. I still would like to see it on rela hardware!)
Ah that's what I get for self hosting. What browser?
https://youtu.be/7xPS-0nydms
And this thread shows all of them on real hardware: https://x.com/i/status/1992802154370011595
I don't know. Analog signal processing is clearly less memory than a register, no? So a line exists somewhere and I think it's way before no RAM.
> Analog signal processing is clearly less memory than a register, no?
Bucket-brigade delay lines?
I'm not saying every analog signal processor is surely memory free, simply that you can imagine one that is.
But I'm not really familiar with what that is.
They're a kind of analogue dynamic memory. I'd hesitate to call them RAM because the Access is not Random, but they are a kind of shift register and early computers used those for RAM.
Imagine a pair of MOSFETs connected to a pair of capacitors, and a bunch of those joined together in a chain. All the gates of each one of the pair of MOSFETS are connected together, giving you a "left" and "right" clock input.
When you put a signal in if you pulse the "left" and "right" inputs, it'll store the signal voltage in one capacitor, then pass it off to the next capacitor in turn, like old-timey firefighter handing buckets of water down a line of people.
They used to use this for delaying audio signals before digital memory and analogue to digital conversion was cheap enough to use.