text:
Alef NullDSP CARD4
Alef Null International
Signal Processing Division
Alef Null is a group of amateurs in Finland who have been active in the development of DSP projects since 1992. The DSP CARD 4 is their fouth generation DSP Card. It utilizies the Motorola DSP56001 DSP chip.
There is an excellent User's Manual written for the DSP CARD 4 by Kaj Wiik, OH6EH and Jarkko Vuori, Oh4LNS. The manual begins by discussing the reasons for using digital signal processing (DSP) and what DSP really is. Then they present the DSP CARD 4, discuss what capabilities it has, and how it is implemented both in hardware and software. They also discuss the current application software for the DSP CARD 4. Then some hints on using, constructing and testing the DSP CARD 4 are shown. Finally, they give the history of the DSP CARD 4 and some future speculation.
There is a written by Craig Newell, VK4YEQ.
The User's Manual and Software for the DSP CARD 4 can be found:
The manual is available in three formats. I highly recommend you download and print the PDF or Postscript versions. The HTML version is good for browsing, but the PDF or PS versions have the best detail.
- Overview
- Contents
- Introduction
- Hardware
- Connections
- Firmware
- Application Software
- Using the DSP CARD 4
- Constructing and testing of the DSP CARD 4
- Programming with the DSP CARD 4
- Alef Null ideology -- how to think, how to react
- History
- Conclusions and Future Speculation
- References
- Appendices
- doc1.pdf (367 KB)
- doc2.pdf (177 KB)
- doc3.pdf (161 KB)
- doc4.pdf (487 KB)
- doc5.pdf (421 KB)
HTML (porting is not complete)
User's Manual
For DSP CARD 4
Kaj Wiik, OH6EH
8 April, 1995
email: firstname.lastname@example.com Jarkko Vuori, Oh4LNS
email: email@example.com
THIS manual describes various aspects about the Alef Null DSP CARD 4. First we discuss the reasons for using digital signal processing (DSP) and what DSP really is. Then we present the DSP CARD 4, discuss what capabilities it has, and how it is implemented both in hardware and software. Then we reveal the current application software for DSP CARD 4. Then some hints on using, contructing and testing the DSP CARD 4 are shown, and finally the history of the DSP CARD 4 and some future speculation is given.
This document is for the DSP CARD 4 Rev. 2.3, which is the final release board. This series contains currently 50 boards. Please note that we are not Gurus and therefore this document contains errors and is far from complete.
We are extremely grateful to many radio amateurs all over the world who have been interested on our project. This have been a stimulating effect on our development of this little board. Special thanks we owe to Rob Janssen PE1CHL, Henk Peek PA0HZP, Pawel Jalocha SP9VRC, and Reinhard Köhn DL7ARP for pinpointing some nasty bugs in our hardware design, software and documentation.
This document has been made with Microsoft WORD for Windows 2.0a in HP Vectra 486/33U environment. Making of this document has taken time of 92 hours. Pictures has been created with Micrografx Designer 3.1 except schematics that have been designed with PADS schematics editor. All graphical plots has been created with MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB 4.0a running on HP 9000 Series 730 workstation, real waveforms has been measured with HP 54600A scope connected via serial line to the HP Vectra, and spectrum measurements has been done with HP 8561 spectrum analyzer with HPIB interface to the PC.
Copywrite 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Alef Null
Alef Null is not a registered trademark, it is used only as a nickname to our group1.
1 Alef Null consortium does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit or software described herein; neither does it convey any license under the patent rights of others. DSP CARD 4 and other Alef Null products are not authorized for and should not be used within life support systems or nuclear facility applications without the specific written consent of Alef Null.
Life support systems are systems which (1) are intended for surgical implant into body, or (2) support or sustain life and whose failure to perform when properly used in accordance with instructions for use provided in the labeling can be reasonably expected to result in a significant injury to the user.
Examples of nuclear facility applications are applications in (1) a nuclear reactor, or (2) any device designed or used in connection with the handling, processing, packaging, preparation, utilization, fabricating, alloying, storing, or disposal of fissionable material or waste products thereof.
Alef Null reserves the right to make changes without further notice to any products herein to improve reliability, function or design. Alef Null does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit described herein; neither does it convey any licence under its patent rights or the rights of others.
There is no warranty. What you see is what you get.
ContentsOverview Contents Introduction
- Why to use digital signal processing
- The DSP Card 4 features
- What is Digital Signal Processing
- Motivation
- Some DSP circuit examples
- Is there a need for a Theory for DSP
- Time dependence
- Higher-order harmonics
- Deadbeat control
- How Theory Developed
- Where to learn DSP techniques
- DSP and memory
- Stereo A/D and D/A converter
- Power supply
- Watchdog and power-on reset
- Interfaces
- High-speed serial interface
- General purpose I/O
- Analog interface
- Parallel port recommendation
- Wiring table for TNC-like DSP Card 4 applications
- Managing software with DSP Card 4
- Start-up sequence of DSP Card 4
- ROM library
- Interface protocol
- Leonid monitor
- Leonid function calls
- Using Codec with Leonid
- Leonid likes KISS protocol
- Transmitter control
- Narrow bandpass filter
- Using bandpass filter
- QRM and QRN reduction filters
- Adaptive signal processing
- LMS algorithm for coefficient adjustment
- Implementation
- Using noise reductors
- 1200 AFSK modem
- Frequency modulation
- FSK demodulation
- Phase-locked loop demodulator
- Automatic gain controller
- Digital frequency synthesizer
- Symbol synchronization
- Carrier detect
- Modem operation
- 9600 bit/s G3RUH modem
- PAM signal
- Pulse shaping filters
- PAM demodulation
- Fixed rate sampling
- Symbol synchronization
- Carrier detect
- Modem operation
- Library Manager
- Downloader
- Some facts about bees and flowers
- Warning
- Motivation
- Winding the transformer
- Soldering the DSP
- Soldering the codec
- Soldering resistors and diodes
- IC's and sockets
- The rest of the components
- Ground connection for scope
- Power isolation loop
- Euro connector
- Chip caps
- Testing
- Power supply
- General operation
- Codec performance testing
- Congratulations
- Mechanical testing
- Spurious emissions from the DSP CARD 4
- General
- Comparison operations
- Addressing modes
- Jumps
- Using parallelism
- Arithmetic and data representation
- Some methodology
- So you want to build a DSP application
THE DSP CARD 4 is a product of the Alef Null group. DSP CARD 4 is a general purpose signal processing card, dedicated mainly to the amateur use.
will always
be art."
Johan Wolfgang von Goethe
Why to use digital signal processing
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is the arithmetic processing of real-time signals that have been sampled and digitised in both time and amplitude.
Digital signal processing, DSP, offers many advantages over conventional analogue processing [33].
Stability - Unaffected by temperature or ageing
Repeatability - Not dependent on component tolerances
Power Consumption - Generally lower, especially CMOS devices
Cost - Lower system cost in many applications
Calibration - No calibration is required
Chip Count - Can be reduced in many applications
Algorithms - Many algorithms are difficult or impossible to implement in analogue technology
In amateur world, the main benefit of using DSP comes from the easy modification. A signal-processor based DSP hardware can be programmed for different circuits. For instance, the same hardware can generate all possible modems for all known amateur modulation standards (or in theory at least).
The DSP CARD 4 features
Figure 1: The block diagram of the digital signal
processing card.
DSP56001 has many I/O functions on the chip, which
simplifies the overall hardware implementation.
The block diagram of the DSP CARD 4 is presented in the figure 1. DSP CARD 4 contains the Motorola 27 MHz DSP56001 digital signal processor with 13.5 MIPS processing power. The card has 32 kW (96 kB) high speed RAM, divided to two parts -- 8 kW for the program memory and 24 kW for the data memory. DSP56001 has internal 0.5 kW program memory and 0.5 kW data memory, so the total memory is 8.5 kW for program memory and 24.5 kW for data memory.
The DSP56001 has 24-bit word length, giving a dynamic range of 144 dB. Internally the accumulators are 56-bit, providing 336 dB dynamic range. The DSP56001 has a 32x24-bit bootstrap ROM for loading the internal program RAM via the host interface. Three functional units operate in parallel -- the Data ALU, the Address ALU and the Program Controller. This allows a very high degree of internal parallelism that greatly enhances the overall processing power; an instruction prefetch, a 24x24-bit multiplication, a 56-bit addition, rounding two data moves and two address pointers updates can be executed in a single 74.1 ns instruction cycle. A high level of integration -- with six on-chip resources, three on-chip MCU-style peripherals, a clock generator and seven buses -- enable implementing the DSP system with very few external components [38, 34].
DSP CARD 4 has the following interfaces
- host interface to the host computer via optoisolated high-speed RS-232 for downloading programs and high-speed data transfers
- line level analog input/output for direct audio or radio interface
- microphone preamplifier inputs and headphone outputs
- special monitor loudspeaker output
- eight general purpose high-current outputs and four protected general purpose inputs
- TTL-level time-multiplexed network interface for additional A/D or D/A converters
The whole system needs a single power supply, 6-16 VDC. Power supply is a switched mode type because of its greater efficiency and its ability to generate separate +5V supply for the isolated serial interface. Power consumption depends strongly on what the card is doing (i.e. what is the sample rate of the codec and what kind of program the codec is performing), but typical figures are 2 :
200 mW - Codec is turned off, processor is idling. Typical when DSP CARD 4 is doing nothing.
1 W - Codec is turned off, processor is maximally loaded.
1.2 W - Codec is turned on, sample rate is 8 kHz, processor is doing typical signal processing task. Typical power consumption.
1.7 W - Codec is on, sample rate is maximum (48 kHz), prosessor is maximally loaded (with external memory accesses). Absolute maximum power consumption.
Valid operating temperature range is 0 C - 55 C, storage temperature range is -55 C - 125 C. Weight of the card is about 150g.
DSP CARD 4 is contained on a single Eurocard (160mm x 100mm), four layered, trough plated PCB. The card has a single EURO-64 connector, which contains all the needed connections.
What is Digital Signal ProcessingMotivation
Up to about 20 years ago, the design of electronic circuits followed a bright vision -- the function of the circuit was split into smaller units, each corresponding to already tested circuits or available components [24,25]. Easy to use 8-bit microcomputers solved many of the problems of digital circuit design, testing and maintenance, beside a further reduction of the cost of the hardware. The design time was shortened by introducing compact but reliable microprocessor and peripheral integrated circuits while test and/or debugging routines could be implemented at little if any additional cost in the final product.
Of course, continuous efforts were made to simplify the design and testing of the more difficult analog circuits. For example, a very successful innovation was the introduction of the operational amplifier: the design engineer could finally concentrate on the differential equations describing his/her problems instead of thinking how to bias his transistors.
The basic idea of Digital Signal Processing is to replace an electrical circuit with its mathematical equivalent and solving the equations describing the circuit numerically in real time. The latter can be done either with hardwired logic or with computers. Of course DSP circuits do not require any tuning or alignment, since the tolerances of the components are only limited by the accuracy of the numerical models used. Production line testing and maintenance is limited to check the operation of a microprocessor.
Besides cost advantages, DSP circuits allow the designer to use components that could hardly be implemented with analog electronic components: tuned circuits with arbitrary, even infinite but stable values of Q, easily variable component values during circuit operation (adaptive signal processing) or very complex algorithms that would require a very large number of high accuracy analog components (Fast Fourier Transform).
The main drawback of DSP is a limited bandwidth of all the signals present in the circuit: all the computations usually have to be performed at a rate of at least twice the signal bandwidth. DSP circuits are therefore limited to IF, audio and video applications. DSP circuits also require very fast logic or powerful microprocessors to provide usable results. This is the reason why DSP has only become popular with advanced signal processor chips.Some DSP circuit examples
Figure 2: DSP circuit principles.
A DSP circuit can generally be split into an interface part including A/D and D/A converters and related circuits to interface to the analog 'environment' and a digital part performing some numerical operations on the digitised analog signals, figure 2.
The input analog signal is first band limited essentially to prevent interferences called aliasing: a finite number of samples taken by the following sample-and-hold stage can only represent a limited bandwidth signal. The sample-and-hold circuit and the following A/D converter are triggered periodically at regular intervals called the sampling period or its inverse, the sampling frequency. The latter should be at least twice the signal bandwidth: practical applications require a sampling frequency 2.5 to 3 times the signal bandwidth due to circuit imperfections.
The DSP circuit designed has to replace all those analog components -- amplifiers, energy storing components (capacitors and inductors) and non-linear components (rectifiers, balanced mixers) -- with mathematical algorithms that will be computed on each input signal sample coming from A/D converter and will provide a regular stream of output signal samples to the D/A converter.
Engineers usually describe the operation of linear analog circuits using linear differential equations. A DSP circuit will be a good replacement for an analog circuit if its operation can be described by a similar equation. Since DSP circuits work on uniform stream of samples and not on continuous signals, there is no way to compute derivatives nor to obtain a differential equation. One can however compute differences between successive samples: if the sampling period is sufficiently short these can be considered a good approximation for derivatives. Let us consider as a simple example LC resonator circuit in analog and DSP world.
Figure 3: An LC tuned circuit and its DSP equivalent.
A simple LC-tuned resonator circuit, figure 3, contains two energy storing components and is described by a second order differential equation:
The resonant frequency is well known to be
Derivative can be approximated by Euler's methodwhere T is the time between two successive samples:
From the previous equation we can see that the difference equation describing the DSP circuit can be re-arranged to become similar to the differential equation of the analog resonator: three successive samples are required to compute the approximation for the second derivative. When we assumewe get the DSP block diagram form shown in figure 3. The resonant frequency of this DSP implementation of LC resonant circuit is given by
Note that there are two energy storing components in the analog realisation of a resonator. In the digital realisation, there are two delay lines that are equivalent of energy storing components in analog realisation.
The digital signal processing block diagram in figure 3 can be programmed for Motorola DSP56001 signal as
; wait for one sample loop waitblk r2,buflen,1
; then generate the sinewave move #c,x1
move x:<t1,x0 mpy x0,x1,a x:<t2,y0 sub y0,a x0,x:<t2 move a,x:<t1
; and output the generated sample move a,y:(r2)+n2
jmp <loop
The analog LC circuit shown and its equation corresponds to the ideal case of lossless resonator. It is well known that such a resonator can not build in practice, since there are always some loss mechanisms. On the other hand, a lossless resonator (with infinite Q) can readily be built as a (stable!) DSP circuit. Thus the DSP implementation of this LC resonator can be used as a sine wave generator. The output from the DSP CARD 4 when the previously shown program is running is shown in figure 4.
Figure 4: Output signal from the LC-resonator.
A good theory should make it possible to understand how a system like the one in figure 2 works and how it should be designed. It seems clear that a sampled system would behave as a continuous-time system if the sampling period were sufficiently small. This is certainly true under very reasonable assumptions. Is there then any need for a special theory for DSP?
Some examples will be used to show that the system in figure 2 cannot be fully understood in terms of the theory of time-invariant, linear systems.
Time dependence
When a signal is fed through a DSP system, it encounters different delay depending on the moment of sampling. If the input is delayed, then the output is delayed by the same amount only if the delay is a multiple of the sampling period.
Higher-order harmonics
It is well known that a sinusoidal input signal applied to a stable, linear, time-invariant, continuous-time system will -- after a transient -- give signals in the system that are sinusoidal with the same frequency as that of the input. If for example sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 5.1 Hz is fed to the DSP system with a sampling rate 10 Hz, there will be an additional 0.1 Hz component on the output of the system. This cannot be explained in terms of linear, time-invariant systems.
Deadbeat control
It is possible to use special control strategies suitable only to DSP systems to obtain better results in performance than ordinary linear feedback systems can achieve. One of these control strategies is deadbeat control [17].
How Theory Developed
During and after World War II, a lot of activity was devoted to analysis of radar systems. These systems are naturally sampled because a position measurement is obtained once per antenna revolution. Since transform theory had been so useful for continuous-time systems, it was natural to try to develop a similar theory for sampled systems. The first steps in this direction were taken by Hurewicz [21]. He introduced the transform of a sequence {f(kT)}, defined by
The transform was later defined as the z-transform by Ragazzini and Zadeh [22].
Toward the end of fifties, the z-transform approach to sampled systems had matured, and several textbooks appeared. This theory, which was patterned after the theory of linear, time-invariant, continuous-time systems, gave good tools for analysis and synthesis of sampled systems. A few modifications had to be made because of the time-varying nature of sampled systems.
Where to learn DSP techniques
Does anyone know of a construction on audio signal filtering, equalisation, compression and more with a DSP circuit Texas Instruments, Intel etc. ?
If you have suggestions on references (books , source codes) i would be very thankfull! All expances will be paid (of course).
I would also like to get in touch with anyone that has knowledge on this field and is willing to teach me some of the secrets of DSP!
The need for information about DSP is today extremely intense as may seen from the above packet radio message. It is a very good thing that many good books on DSP have been published since 1970's. There are both simple tutorials and advanced textbooks. For an example Ludeman's simple book [1] is a good introduction to DSP and Oppenheim's lucid and penetrating treatment of basic signals and systems [2] is highly recommended. Quite a new book from Proakis [15] is a very good textbook on DSP, oriented mainly for digital communication engineers. For intermediate level Jackson's presentation [5] and the legendary Oppenheim and Schafer's book [3] are good references. An excellent book on simple adaptive filters is Alexander's one [11]. For advanced level [6,7,8,10] could be useful to read. Of course some of the IEEE serials (e.g. IEEE TRANS. ON ACOUSTICS, SPEECH AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, IEEE TRANS. ON AEROSPACE, IEEE TRANS. ON COMMUNICATIONS, IEEE PROCEEDINGS and IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE) and the IEE serials (e.g. IEE PROCEEDINGS-I, COMMUNICATIONS, SPEECH AND VISION, IEE PROCEEDINGS-F, COMMUNICATION, RADAR & SIGNAL PROCESSING) might be useful.
Of course DSP itself isn't quite useful. In amateur world DSP applications to the communication technology are the most interesting. Carlson's book [12] is the 'number one' introduction to the communications technology. It also contains a very complete reference section for the more interested reader. One quite good practical oriented book is [9]. Lee's and Messerschmitt's book [13] tells a little more about digital communications at quite tutorial level. Bingham's book [14] has many practical hints for modem designer, mainly for telephone modems. More theoretically oriented books are [15,16]. Of course the IEEE TRANS. ON COMMUNICATIONS, IEEE JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS and IEE PROCEEDINGS-F, COMMUNICATION, RADAR & SIGNAL PROCESSING are good sources of advanced information.
There are also very fascinating DSP applications in the field of control theory. Basic book, dedicated mainly for prevailing design is Dorf's textbook [18]. Entirely devoted to digital control system design is Åström's elegant book [17]. Adaptive control is studied in his book for adaptive control [19]. For advanced control, the identification of the process is an absolute prerequisite. One good text about this field is Ljung's book [20].
2 There can be variations in power consumption about -0.1W - +0.4W depending on the exact types of the components used.
"Tieta pitkin tien on vanki,
vapaa vain on umpihanki."
Aaro Hellaakoski
The total chip count of the DSP CARD 4 is only twelve chips. This is possible because the DSP56001 has so many interface functions on it, and we used a special A/D and D/A converter chip that contained all the needed support functions for analog interfacing.
DSP and memory
The DSP56001 interface is very straightforward 3 [39]. The crystal oscillator circuit is a very typical fundamental frequency Pierce type oscillator. If the crystal is not a fundamental type, C1 and L1 are needed to suppress the fundamental frequency.
Table 1: DSP CARD 4 memory map. All addresses are given in hexadecimal.
We used three 32K x 8 type 25 ns high-speed static RAMs because they are cheap and easy to obtain (cache-memories in PCs often have this type of chips in them). The DSP and memory interface is very simple. All we need is a NAND gate (A2)4 for enabling the RAM when DSP56001 wants to access program space (PS) or data space (DS), and multiplexer chip (A3) for handling memory space partitioning and write enable signal prolongation. Note that the data space is partitioned to 8 kW X-partition and 16 kW Y-partition, and program space is a single 8 kW cluster. This kind of memory partition was selected because DSP-programs tends to be quite small and in some applications there is a need for a larger data memory space. For memory map description, see the table 1.
The access time t AA of the RAM is 25 ns, and the DSP demand for access time from the valid address is specified by parameter #130 5 as 42 ns (assuming 27 MHz clock). Signals derived from addresses are fed through two NAND gates that have maximum delay t PLH as 8 ns. Therefore there is 42 ns - 25 ns - 2*8 ns = 1 ns reserve for reliable working or for some experiments with higher operating frequencies 6.
The DSP parameter #125 = 12.5 ns does not meet SRAM t DW = 15 ns requirement, therefore the WR signal is directed via the multiplexer chip (A3) to lengthen WR signal.
DSP CARD 4 boots from the on-board EPROM (A7). Immediately after reset, DSP56001 fills its internal memory from the external EPROM and starts executing the program there. The access time of the external EPROM can be about 1 us because there are automatically inserted 15 wait-states on the EPROM reading. This EPROM can be an ordinary type 256 kB device, or a special FLASH EPROM that can be erased and programmed without removing the chip from the board. This Atmel Corp. AT29C256 FLASH EPROM we use needs no external programming voltages [48], therefore FLASH or an ordinary type EPROM can be used on the same socket. This AT29C256 can also be programmed in 64 byte blocks that makes the partial updating of the FLASH possible.
Stereo A/D and D/A converter
We selected Crystal Semiconductor's 16-bit, 48 kHz, Multimedia Audio Codec CS4215 [49,50] for the DSP CARD 4. CS4215 is very easy to use; it has both dual A/D and D/A converters, their anti-aliasing filters, references and amplifiers for microphone, headphones, line input, line output and for special monitoring loudspeaker in a single 44-pin PLCC package. The sampling rate can be selected to one of the following: 48, 32, 27.42875, 16, 9.6 and 8 kHz. CS4215 can be set to special power-down mode in order to reduce power consumption notably. Multiple CS4215 devices can also be connected to the same serial line interface with simple time multiplexing scheme.
Interface to DSP56001 is made by synchronous interface with 8 or 16-bit words and continuous clock with a separate frame synchronisation signal. After reset the CS4215 is sending the shift clock and framing pulses and is in 8 bit mode, after initialising it the DSP56001 is the source of shift clock and framing pulses and the interface is set to 16-bit mode. The interface to DSP56001 contains only two data lines, one clock line, one framing pulse line, one line for data/control mode driving and one line for power down mode setting. Because there is also a possibility to use more than one codec together, therefore all the necessary codec interface signals for multiple codec configuration are fed to the external connector.
The power supply for CS4215 is given via LC low-pass filters because the power-supply noise rejection (40 dB) is quite poor on the CS4215. The 3 dB corner frequency of those LC filters (L3 C30) and (L4 C32) is about 16 kHz. These two-pole low-pass filters have attenuation together about 2x-12 dB/octave. The main source of interfering noise if the switching power supply that has switching frequency 165 kHz. The maximum frequency that the codec can handle is 24 kHz, so the attenuation at this frequency must be enough to ensure 80 dB dynamic range the codec has. LC-filters attenuate -82 dB the 165 kHz signal at the frequency 24 kHz, and the codec has 40 dB internal power supply rejection, hence the total attenuation is 123 dB -- enough to guarantee the 80 dB dynamic range of the codec.
CS4215 outputs are short circuit protected, so there is only simple one-pole RC low-pass anti-aliasing filters are needed on the inputs and outputs. The nominal voltage level on the line inputs and outputs are 1 Vrms (2.8 Vpp ).
Power supply
Power supply generates two separate +5V outputs. First output, with 500 mA output capability, is for all the codecs, processors and whatever. Second output, with 30 mA output capability, is for the isolated serial port interface only. The power supply is switched-mode supply because of its higher efficiency and the easiness with which the isolated outputs can be made. There are dangers in using switching-mode supplies, but we thought that because the currents are small and the switching frequency is high, those typical switcher power supply noises can be filtered out.
The power supply is implemented with MAXIM MAX738A +5V Step-Down Current-Mode PWM Regulator [47]. This regulator has a high switching frequency (165 kHz), good efficiency (87%), and because of current-mode type feedback has a rapid response to load changes. This chip is also extremely easy to use, there are neither inductor nor capacitor design at all! The inductor should be in range 33mH - 100mH and the capasitor is 100mF. Only the size of the toroid must be checked if other than those MAXIM recommends will be used.
The magnetic size of the toroid must be large enough to store the maximum energy peaks transferred through the toroid [46]. From Ampère's law we get the magnetic flux density (in Teslas, T) of the toroid as
where ur is the relative permittivity of the matter (dimensionless), u0 is the permittivity of vacuum (4 pi 10 -7 H /m), N is the number of turns on the toroid, I is the current through the toroid and l is length of the toroid.
Magnetic flux (in Webers, Wb, Tm2 ) can be stated as
where A is the cross sectional area of the toroid. Using the well known definition for the inductance (in Henries, H, Wb/m2 ) and the previous result, we get
A properly selected inductor must provide the right value of L without exceeding the maximum magnetic flux density for the core used. In other words, the core must not 'saturate' under conditions of peak current Ip . From the Ampère's law and the previous result, we get formula for the volume of the toroid needed for the given peak current as
We wanted to use Amidon FT50-61 toroid because of its good availability. Its main characteristics are:
- B = 2350G = 235 mT (one Gauss is 0.1 mTesla)
- ur = 125
- V = 0.402 cm3
- AL = 68 mH/1000 turns
The maximum peak current is Ip = 700 mA and the inductance is L = 40uH. Therefore
Because this is smaller than the volume of the toroid used, it is not driven into saturation'it can store and give the necessary amount of energy during one cycle of operation.
The number of turns in the toroid can be calculated from the equation
The number of turns in the toroid can be the equation
In case of FT50-61 toroid the previous equation gives 25 turns. The isolated output is simply taken from the secondary winding of the inductor (flyback mode) and it is not very well regulated. The maximum output current that can be taken from this winding is about 10% of the main output current. The secondary winding must be connected so that the energy is delivered to the secondary output when the PWM switch turns off. During the off-time, the voltage across the primary winding is regulated by the feedback loop, yielding a constant Volts/Turns ratio. The number of turns for secondary voltage is the same as in primary winding because the output voltages and the diodes are same for both outputs.
There is an additional transient suppressor (V5) in order to protect the board from the possible over voltage and destructive noise spikes. The filter (C14,L2,C15,C16) prevents the supply noise to get out of the board.
Figure 5: Measured switcher waveforms.
The outputs of the switching mode power supply are shown in the figure 5 when the input voltage to the board is 9V and there is sine oscillator program running. The power consumption is about 1W, the switching frequency is 172 kHz and the duty cycle is 64%. The upper part of the figure shows the measured waveform at the cathode of V3. The lower part of the figure shown is measured signal at the pin 14 of A2.
Watchdog and power-on reset
Because we thought that this DSP CARD 4 board might be used on places where there are no supervision, the reliability of the hardware and software must be good. One common way to ensure the operation of the processor is to use watchdog that needs some kind of regular attention from the processor. Watchdog resets the processor when it has not been responding for a given period of time.
We decided to use the MAXIM MAX1232 Microprocessor Monitor chip. It is the cheapest device and has many second source suppliers. It has all the necessary functions we needed in this application: good power-on reset, supply voltage monitor, reset switch input and watchdog function. DSP56001 toggles on of its output periodically (this output is also directed to the green 'heart-beat' led for visual monitoring), if there is no updates in 1.2s, the MAX1232 gives 250 ms reset pulse to the DSP. Also if the +5 supply goes under -10%, MAX1232 will issue system reset to the board.
High-speed serial interface
High-speed serial interface is implemented with the MAXIM MAX232A High-Speed +5 Powered RS232 Drivers/Receivers chip. This chip is an upgrade for the older MAX232 chip, it has higher maximum speed (116 kbit/s), and needs smaller capacitors (100nF). Linear Technology LT1180 or MAXIM MAX202 can be used, if there is not need for the maximum 116 kbit/s data transfer rate. Of course the older MAX232 can be used if those small 100 nF capacitors are replaced by larger 10uF capacitors and slower data rate is accepted.
The isolation is done with the HP HCPL-2730 Dual Low Input Current, High Gain Optocouplers and the isolated power supply. We selected HCPL-2730 because of its good availability and it has many second source suppliers.
This interface is mainly asynchronous, but the SCLK signal from the DSP56001 is fed to the output and can be programmed to give shift clock for the interface. With synchronous mode the maximum data transfer rate is 3.375 Mbit/s (27 MHz clock assumed).
For higher communication speeds the MAX232A can be removed and the signals can be jumpered directly to the output where some additional driver/receiver (e.g. RS-422 type) can be installed.General purpose I/O
General purpose outputs are buffered by octal ULN2803A device. It can sink 500 mA current and has protection diodes for inductive loads. The diodes can be connected with CLAMP signal to the V+ source of the target.
General purpose inputs are protected with simple resistor and diode network for over voltage conditions. The diode used, 1N4148, can sustain continuous 400 mA DC forward current, thus in a theory the input protection can handle as large as U=RI=2200 Ohm 400 mA=880 V.Analog interface
Analog interface is extremely simple because the Codec chip CS4215 contains all the necessary amplifiers and protection networks. Only simple antialiasing networks are needed. It must be noted that the input has nearly zero impedance at the high frequencies, therefore there may be problems with some signal sources. This can be resolved by placing an additional amplifier between the signal source and the DSP CARD 4.
3 See the schematics at the end of this document.
4 The character and number in paranthesis points to the part id in the schematics.
5 Parameter numbers as in [36].
6 Please note that when working at very high frequencies on the standard 27 MHz chip, the DSP56001 dissipates more power, so the DSP chip may need some additional cooling.
Every connection to the DSP CARD 4 is made via the 64-pin Euro-1 connector on the board edge.
Power - 6V'16VDC, power consumption is typically 1W (depending on the mode of the DSP56001 and CS4215), and the maximum power consumption is about 2W.
RS-232 - This is a standard RS-232D interface. Can be used on the maximum speed of PC (116 kbit/s). With simple modifications it gives high-speed TTL-level interface.
Additional Codecs - TTL-level signals for connecting more Crystal CS4215 codecs, or other devices compatible to the DSP56001 SSI interface, to the DSP CARD 4.
Discrete outputs - Eight general purpose outputs capable of sinking 500 mA. Provisions for inductive load driving.
Discrete inputs - Four general purpose inputs. Protected for over voltage (max. 48 VDC).
Analog - Line level inputs and outputs (2.8 Vpp ). There are also microphone level inputs, headphone outputs (max. 8 Ohm) and monitor loudspeaker output (max. 32 Ohm).
Some power supply signals are also available from the card. Logic +5V (for additional logic circuits), isolated +5V and isolated boosted +9V and -9V (for additional communication driver/receivers and signal setting).
There is also available a separate reset switch signal (BRS) that can be grounded in order to get reset signal.
Parallel port recommendation
For radio amateur communication purposes, the usage of the output parallel port is recommended to be as:
O0 - PTT trx L - drives transmitter
O1 - DOWN trx L - pulse to move receive freq DOWN
O2 - UP trx L - pulse to move receive freq UP
O3 - CAT trx L - can control trx using some serial protocol
O4 - PTT trx R - drives transmitter
O5 - DOWN trx R - pulse to move receive freq DOWN
O6 - UP trx R - pulse to move receive freq UP
O7 - CAT trx R - can control trx using some serial protocol
Input parallel port usage is recommened as:
I0 - RTS trx L - request to transmit
I1 - CAT trx L - CAT input from trx for feedback
I2 - RTS trx R - request to transmit
I3 - CAT trx R - CAT input from trx for feedback
In these, L and R refer to the channel of the CODEC to which thetransceiver is connected. The RTS inputs are thought to be used when a microphone is connected to the DSP card which in turn drives the transceiver via the analog outputs and PTT lines. E.g. in a speech processing application where you want the DSP to be in control of the transmitter for things like VOX, but also like to have a manual transmit capability. Alternatively these inputs could be used for some simple mode selection using a switch.
This layout assumes a 2-transceiver configuration is practical. Should this not be the case (or when you want to use the 2 channels to generate the I and Q parts of the signal) only the L mappings can be used and the remaining signals are available for other use.
Wiring table for TNC-like DSP CARD 4 applications
For each connector, the pins on the DSP CARD 4 euro-connector to be used are given below:
DSP CARD 4 has one EPROM chip that contains a simple monitor program, called LEONID, which boots immediately after reset. The role of this monitor is to ease the use of DSP CARD 4. There are functions for downloading programs, interfacing to the codec chip and serial line, handling transmitter on/off protocol, and treating the lowest level of AX25 protocol.
There are also some support software available for the PC to load programs to the DSP CARD 4 and to maintain EPROM software library.
Managing software with DSP CARD 4
The EPROM device on the DSP CARD 4 contains a special boot program to check the functionality of the card and to start-up all the necessary peripheral devices. This boot program also loads a monitor program from the slow EPROM to the high-speed RAM program memory to give some support functions (serial port I/O handling, Codec handling and real-time determination) for user's application programs.
It is possible to arrange things such that after all the essential initialisations are done, the boot program loads some predetermined program which is in the EPROM device and starts executing it. With this capability, the DSP CARD 4 can be operated without any host computer connected to it. It also possible to organise the system in a such way that after reset a different program starts from the pool of programs in a robin round fashion. This is useful when there is no host computer available and there are more than one DSP program that one is willing to use.
It is also possible to load a program from the host computer at any time. This is very useful when debugging programs -- there is no need to program an EPROM to test how the program works on the real platform.
Figure 6: Software maintenance cycle. Library manager
(DLIB) can combine
several linker output files (*.LOD) together. The output of the
library manager, EPROM image file (ROM.BIN), can be sent to
the EPROM programmer. The loader (DL) can download linker
output files to the DSP CARD 4 directly.
Tasks in order to produce loadable code are shown in Figure 6. Library manager combines the DSP56000 linker output files to the EPROM image file. This image can be programmed to an EPROM with EPROM programmer or sent directly via the serial line to the DSP CARD 4.Start-up sequence of DSP CARD 4
Figure 7: Start-up sequence of the DSP CARD 4. Flag
sequence is a special
character sequence detected on the serial input. Reset can be
power-up reset, watchdog reset or user reset via reset button.
The start-up sequence of the DSP CARD 4 is shown in Figure 7. Directly after reset, the internal bootstrap ROM of the DSP56001 commands it to load 512 words from the EPROM to the internal P memory and start the program execution. This loaded program initialises all the needed peripherals (serial line, timer, i/o-pins) and then performs self checking functions. If there are some errors detected, these will be shown with the two leds on the board. If no hardware errors are found, then resident part of the monitor program is loaded to the upper external P memory. After that, the interrupts are enabled (green led starts blinking) and the red led will be set on in order to mark that the monitor is waiting for a command. The DSP waits 1s for a command from the serial line. If there is nothing from the serial line the DSP checks if this is the first time reset (this is determined by checking if a predetermined memory locations contains a valid checkword). If it is a first time reset, and there are programs in the EPROM to be loaded and executed, the DSP loads a program, and starts the execution of that program. If there are no programs available in the EPROM, then the DSP will be placed to energy saving sleep mode. If this is not the first time reset, the current program slot pointer is incremented and the next program in the EPROM will be loaded and executed. The red led is always on only when the main program execution is in LEONID monitor, e.g. when there is a command pending in the DSP CARD 4. The red led starts blinking when there is a data communication error detected (interrupted data transmission, for example) between the host computer and DSP CARD 4.
The DSP CARD 4 can be placed to reset state by sending a special four byte flag sequence (its value is Int(100000000pi)=314159265, and the sequence is therefore 12b9b0a1 in hexadecimal). This sequence places the DSP56001 in stop processing state, and the watchdog device reset the system after its time-out delay.ROM library
There can be several programs in the EPROM that can be loaded when needed. There is also a special boot program to be loaded just after the reset condition. The boot program must be in a predetermined place in the memory space (DSP56001 hardware requirement). There is also a special 256 bytes long directory entry at the beginning of the EPROM to locate every program residing in the EPROM. At the end of the EPROM there is a two byte word containing a CRC-check word for checking the validity of the EPROM.
Figure 8: EPROM directory structure. The are 15 entries
for the programs.
ROM ID is a word for checking EPROM type, AUTO BOOT ID is
the number of program to be loaded and executed directly after start-up.
DESCRIPTION is an ASCII string describing the program, DATE is the
creation date of the program in MSDOS format. The number on the lower
side of the table indicates the length on the fields in bytes.
Directory structure is shown in figure 8. This directory can contain at maximum 15 programs. The system can detect that a program is present in the slot when the LOAD ADR field is non zero. LOAD ADR and LENGTH fields are used to locate the file in the EPROM and help EPROM management when new entries are created. DESCRIPTION and DATE fields are just notes for the user describing the program. The first entry is a special entry for boot program. ROM ID is used for checking that the given object is a valid EPROM library (the check word contains programmers initials 'JV'in ASCII, 564a in hexadecimal).
Figure 9: The block structure of data in the EPROM
The numbers are the length of fields in bytes.
Because DSP56001 has three types of memory (P,X,Y) and there can be large gaps in the memories to be initialised at the beginning, the data to be loaded is placed to blocks in the EPROM library. The structure of the block is given in figure 9. The block begins with a byte that describes to what type of memory (00=X, 01=P, 10=Y) the data will be loaded. ADDRESS contains the load address for the data, and LENGTH determines the length of the load block. Finally comes the data in three byte chunks (24 bit DSP56001 word needs three 8 bit words).
End of the program is noted by a special block that has a zero in the LENGTH field.Interface protocol
DSP CARD 4 can be connected via a serial line to the host computer. The communication between DSP CARD 4 and the host computer is standardised with a special protocol described below.
After reset, which can be requested from the serial line with a special sequence, the DSP CARD 4 will give an ACK character (04 in hexadecimal) at the speed of 19200 bit/s on the serial line. This can be used to notify the host computer that the DSP CARD 4 has started from the reset state. After this ACK character two eight-bit characters will follow which contains the version date of the monitor program in MS-DOS date format. This version number can be usefull when trying to find out what monitor version the board have. After those three characters the appropriate command can be given to the DSP CARD 4 (currently there is only one command available , namely 'load and go', 03 in hexadecimal). If DSP CARD 4 receives a valid command it responses by sending ACK to the serial line. Otherwise there is no response.
After successfully resetting and offering the command, the host computer can begin to do whatever is necessary to complete the given command. The special 'load and go' command needs the program data to be loaded and then executed.
Figure 10: Communication packet in the special protocol.
The numbers are the length of fields in bytes.
Program data is transferred using a communication block described in figure 10. Packet begins by a special flag character (7e in hexadecimal) that can be used to indicate the start of the packet. Immediately after it comes same kind of block that is used in the EPROM library, in the figure it is marked with shading. After the block header, there is an additional checkword in order to protect the message header. Following the header is the block data itself. At the end of the communication packet comes two byte special check word. In this protocol we use the same Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error detection method than is used in the amateur AX25 and CCITT X25 protocols. The error detection polynomial is x16 +x12 +x5 +1, and the checker is initialised with all ones, check word is send as inverted and the result is checked against a special check word f0b8 in hexadecimal.
After the data packet successfully received, DSP CARD 4 sends ACK character to notify host computer that it has received the packet correctly. If there was an error checkword detected, or if received character timeout has been received, the DSP CARD 4 sends a BADCRC character (05 in hexadecimal), and then the host can send the given packet again.
LEONID monitor
LEONID monitor program gives some simple functions to the programmer in order to ease his/her task to interface those devices on the DSP CARD 4. The functions are defined as macros in a special file LEONID.ASM that must be included in the user's own program code.
There are also two special purpose constants user_code and user_data that determine the suitable starting locations of the code in P memory and data in X and Y memories.
Table 2: Services that LEONID monitor offers.
LEONID itself reserves 3 kW of top P-memory (1400H -1FFFH) for serial line buffers and some monitor routines (monitor routines are located here in order to release maximum amount of internal P-memory for user application programs). Only a small part of the monitor resides in the internal program memory (about 64 words). This part contains only DSP56001 interrupt vectors. Address register r3 (with n3 and m3) are reserved for LEONID.LEONID function calls
The main functions that LEONID offers are listed in the table 2. They can be divided to four groups: serial line handling (opensc, putc, getc, lookc, tstc, endc, rejc), bit-functions (putbit, getbit), codec handling (opencd, closecd, waitblk, ctrlcd), and miscellaneous functions (sleep, putio). Most of functions transfers data in x0 register, and alters the contents of other ALU-registers (a,b,x,y). opencd and getbit use address register r0 and m0. They are defined as macros, so that they can be used at the place of operation code, e.g.
include 'leonid'
org p:user_code
move #>$01,x0 putio
loop getc putc jmp loop
In this simple example we first output simple bit pattern to the general purpose output lines and then forever wait for the characters on the serial line and then output them to the serial line.Using Codec with LEONID
There are two support macros on the LEONID. One is called waitblk that waits for the desired amount of samples from the Codec and then continues the operation of the DSP program. Arguments for it are the register used to read samples from the sample buffer and length of the sample buffer and the number of samples processed at the one batch. Other is called ctrlcd that can be used to control the input and output settings of the CS4215 codec. Arguments for it are a flag that determines if the buffer is to be initialised (output data is set to zero), the length of the buffer used and the input and output settings.
Figure 11: Crystal CS4215 output settings word.
Output settings word is shown in figure 11. This word controls miscellaneous outputs (on/off states) and the output level. There are predefined constants (in LEONID.ASM) HEADP, LINEO and SPEAKER which can be used instead of those bit patterns. Also gains for the output can be given directly with ctrlcd macro.
Figure 12: Crystal CS4215 input settings word.
Input settings word is shown in figure 12. This word selects input source and gain of input amplifiers. There are predefined constants (in LEONID.ASM) LINEI and MIC which can be used instead of those bit patterns. Input gains can also be given directly with ctrlcd macro. To allow monitoring of the input audio signal, the output of the ADCs is routed through a monitor path attenuator, then digitally mixed into the input data for the DACs. Thus monitor path can be used to create an analog path loopback for diagnostics purposes.
Figure 13: Crystal CS4215 data block. It contains
four consecutive words, see [49] for details.
Input and output buffers use the same register r7, but the input buffer is on the X part of the data memory and the output buffer is on the Y part of the data memory. The CS4215 Codec communicates one block as four consecutive words as is shown in figure 13. Note that the input and output blocks are one sample apart in memory for facile data address pointer handling. With those output and input settings the gains for the input and output amplifiers and the input signal sources can be determined.
As an example:
include 'leonid'
M equ 160 buflen equ 3*M
org p:user_code
move #buffer+2,r7 move #buflen*4-1,m7
move #buffer,r2 move #4-1,n2 move #buflen*4-1,m2
ctrlcd 1,r2,buflen,LINEI,0.0,0.0,LINEO|HEADP,0.0,0.0 opencd 8,NOHPF
; wait for one complete block loop waitblk r2,buflen,M
; then filter the left channel move #buflen*4-1,m0 move #-4,n0 move #lotaps,r4 move #<lolen-1,m4
move r2,r0 do #M,_endlpf clr a move x:(r0)+n0,x0 y:(r4)+,y0 rep #lolen-1 mac x0,y0,a x:(r0)+n0,x0 y:(r4)+,y0 macr x0,y0,a (r2)+ move a,y:(r2)+n2 move r2,r0 _endlpf
jmp <loop
org x:user_data
buffer dsm buflen*4
org y:user_data
dsm buflen*4
; 900 Hz lowpass filter generated using Parks-McClellan algorithm dsm 256 lolen equ 79 lotaps dc 1.619394e-02,5.805688e-03,...
This example programs waits for M samples from the Codec, then filters those samples with a 900 Hz low-pass FIR filter and places the results to the output. Notice how the sample pointer is updated in two part to correctly keep in phase with the consecutive samples in the buffer.LEONID likes KISS protocol
Serial interface can be placed to a special KISS protocol [31] handing mode with opensc function call. All the normal serial input/output functions behave as normal, and there are two additional functions endc and rejc available for KISS frame termination or rejection. endc function is normally used to inform LEONID that the end of the current KISS frame is detected because there is now other way for LEONID to know this. rejc informs LEONID that this current KISS frame should be discarded (e.g. when the CRC check at the end of the frame received from the air informs us that the previous bits have errors). Normally these functions are called internally when the application program uses only those bit-level functions described below.
It is also possible to send and receive databits one-per-one basis with putbit and getbit function calls. These functions handle all the necessary low-level AX25 protocol handlings.
As an example:
nolist include 'leonid' list
org p:user_code
start move #reject,a1 opensc
loop getbit jeq <loop
putbit jmp <loop
reject rts
This example receives KISS packets from the serial line, and send them back to the host computer as KISS packets. Receiving and sending back one bit takes time about 9us (with 27MHz DSP clock). This includes all the bit handling, KISS protocol handling and interrupt service routine time.
LEONID handles those KISS parameters that controls transmitter on/off delays. These parameters and their default values are listed in table 3. There can be other KISS parameters also if the user's application program implements them. When the host computer want to set KISS parameter that is not mentioned in the table 3, LEONID calls the subroutine whose address was given in the outsci function.
Table 3: KISS parameters. Parameter P is scaled by
so the default value is actually 63/255=0.25.
Transmitter control module takes care of transmitter on/off delays and CSMA protocol implementation. Flow diagram of the transmitter control module is shown in figure 14.
Figure 14: Flow diagram of the transmitter control module.
Transmitter control module gets information (via caron, cardoff function calls) from the user's application program if there is carrier detected on the air. Module calls user supplied function address (xmit on/off) when it is time to switch the transmitter on or off.
Transmitter control module gets information from the SCI interrupt handler if a new KISS frame has been received. If transmitter is off and there is no carrier detected, then control module calls user's xmit on function in order to scwitch the transmitter on. After some delay, HDLC handler is allowed to give databits to the user's application program.
Application Software
Now there are some usefull programs available for the DSP CARD 4. There are programs for audio filtering and 1200 bit/s and 9600 bit/s data modems. In addition, all the old programs for the DSP CARD 3 can be ported to the new card. Thus we expect the following implementations to be ready in the near future
- 2400 bit/s LPC Vocoder
- 1200 bit/s BPSK modem (for satellite work)
Narrow bandpass filter
Figure 15: CW bandpass-filter frequency response.
In radio amateur CW operation there are many different stations very near in frequency that makes the differentiation of those stations very difficult. Thus there is a need for a very narrow bandpass type filter to reject unwanted signals. We implemented a fixed-bandwidth, fixed-tuned CW filter with a bandwidth of approximately of 200 Hz, centred at 800 Hz.
The CW-filter algorithm differs from conventional audio- or IF-bandpass filters in two ways. First the filter has linear phase response due to its FIR implementation. With linear-phase filtering, the filter bandpass can be made narrower for a given maximum CW speed.
Secondly, the FIR CW filter has a much better shape factor than most conventional filters, which, although they may have very high Q, are usually of low-order with just few poles. The high-order (320nd) DSP FIR filter has steeper skirts than many analog CW filters, and therefore better rejection of nearby signals. The calculated frequency response is shown in figure 15.
The filter was designed with Parks-McClellan Equiripple filter design method in ComdiscoÔ Signal Processing Worksystem (SPW) Filter Design System (FDS) [51]. The Parks-McClellan Equiripple FIR method creates a linear-phase FIR digital filter with a minimum weighted Chebyshev error approximating the desired ideal frequency response. The approximation theory can be found in references [3,5]. Filter coefficients were transformed automatically to the Motorola DSP56001 assembler format to be included in the passband filter source code.Using bandpass filter
Bandpass filter programs is BANDPASS.ASM, and it must be loaded to the processor memory. This program filters signals in the left line-input channel, and produces the output on the both left and right channel line outputs.
QRM and QRN reduction filters
In various situations the speech audio signal is distorted in some way that listening of it becomes unpleasant mission. There are although clever signal processing methods to reduce much of that distortion of the signal without disturbing the actual speech signal itself [27].
Figure 16: D-step noise-canceller predictor diagram
The basic idea of this is to note that the autocorrelations of the speech signal and the interfering signals are different. It is possible to build a system that separates those signals even they are on the same frequency band. The trick is that although they are on the same frequency band, their statistical properties are different. If the speech signal s(n) is contaminated with some kind of interference n(t), the received signal can be stated as
If we have some kind of structure that can identify the properties of the signal that can adapt to the given signal and the input to that device is delayed input signal r(t)=y(t-d), we have the d-step predictor [6] structure of figure 16. The d-step predictor structure can also be seen as a 'correlation canceller'. This is because the output of the prediction filter, s(t), consists of the portion of the signal that is strongly autocorrelated at delay lag d or greater and this output is removed from the received signal y(t). By adjusting the lag d, we can determine what components are removed and what are preserved in the received signal.Adaptive signal processing
Some times there are problems for which the signal processing system parameters, filter coefficients for example, cannot be specified a priori. The only way these kind of problems are resolved is to make the parameters adjustable that can be optimised to minimise some measure of error. A filter with this kind of performance is called an adaptive filter [8,11].
Although both IIR and FIR filters have been considered for adaptive filtering, the FIR filters is by far most practical and widely used -- mainly because of stability problems with IIR-filters.
Figure 17: Direct-Form Adaptive FIR Filter
Of the various FIR filter structures that we may use, the direct form is one of the most often used filter implementation form. The direct form FIR filter structure with adjustable coefficients h(0),h(1),...,h(N-1) is illustrated in figure 17.LMS algorithm for coefficient adjustment
Suppose we have an FIR filter with adjustable coefficients h(k), 0 <= k <= N-1. Let x(n) denote the input sequence to the filter and let the corresponding output be y(n), where
Suppose that we also have a desired sequence d(n) with which we can compare the FIR filter output. Then, we can form the error sequence e(n) by taking the difference between d(n) and y(n). That is
The coefficients of the FIR filter will be selected to minimise the sum of squared errors. Thus, we have
where, by definition,
We call rdx (k) the cross-correlation between the desired output sequence d(n) and the input sequence x(n) and rxx (k) is the auto-correlation sequence of x(n).
The sum of squared errors E is a quadratic function of the FIR filter coefficients. Consequently, the minimisation of E with respect to the filter coefficients h(k) results in a set of linear equations. By differentiating E with respect to each of the filter coefficients we obtain
and, hence,
This is the set of linear equations which yield the optimum filter coefficients.
In order to solve the set of linear equations directly, we must first compute the autocorrelation sequence rxx (k) of the input signal and the cross-correlation sequence rdx (k) between the desired sequence d(n) and the input sequence x(n).
The least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm provides an alternative computational method for determining the optimum filter coefficients h(k) without explicitly computing the correlation sequences rxx(k) and rdx(k). The algorithm is basically a recursive gradient (steepest-descent) method that finds the minimum of E and, thus, yields the set of optimum filter coefficients.
We begin with arbitrary choice for the initial values of h(k), say h0(k). For example, we may begin with h0(k) = 0, <= k <= N. Then, after each new input sample x(n) enters the adaptive FIR filter, we compute the corresponding output, say y(n), form the error signal e(n) = d(n) - y(n) and update the filter coefficients according to the equation
where is called the step size parameter and x(n-k) is the sample of the input signal located at the kth tap of the filter at time n. This is the LMS recursive algorithm for adjusting the filter coefficients adaptively so as to minimise the sum of squared errors E.Implementation
Figure 18: Block diagram of the QRM reductor
The signal flow diagram carrier type noise reductor, QRM reductor, is shown in figure 18. First the signal is fed via high-pass type filter that removes the unwanted hums that does not contribute to the speech signal. This filter is second order IIR-type realisation analog elliptic prototype filter. The filter is realised with one biquad section with proper pre- and post-scalings.
The signal is fed to the delay line and filter adaptation error calculation. Delay line and adaptive FIR-filter are implemented with one ring buffer in order to minimise explicit data movements. Adaptive filter is implemented with LMS coefficient adjustment with simple coefficient decay, i.e. the filter coefficient modification equation is
where coefficient decay factorcontrols the forgetting factor of the coefficients. Especially when the convergence parameteris large, there is a noise build-up effect where hiss components are noticeably amplified. When the input signal goes zero, the coefficients of the standard LMS algorithm does not change, and when there is a lot of noise in the signal, the coefficients will tend to wander aimlessly and may become quite large, increasing the unwanted noise part in the signal. With this decay parameter, the LMS algorithm can slowly recover and reset itself over a period of several seconds.
Figure 19: Block diagram of the QRN reductor
Random noise reductor, QRN reductor, is shown in figure 19. In this case, the delay is shorter because we want to reject those signal components that does not correlate, i.e. are pure white noise, and pass components that have small correlation, i.e. speech signal.
Figure 20: Sequential tone interference
In figure 20 is illustrated the automatic notch filter feature. First 1 kHz signal is fed to the notcher and the frequency is changed to 2 kHz. The LMS filter adapts in 40 ms to the new signal.
Using noise reductors
Bandpass filter programs is QRMQRN.ASM, and it must be loaded to the processor memory. This programs filters signals in the left line-input channel, and produces the output on the both left and right channel line outputs.
1200 AFSK modem Frequency modulation
The simplest amateur packet radio network is based on FM modulated radios and 1200 bit/s Bell 202 telephone standard modems connected directly to the audio ports of those radio transceivers. This Bell 202 modem uses tones of two different frequencies to carry information, this kind of modulation method is called as frequency shift keying (FSK). FSK signal can be described as [12,13]
where 0 <= t <= nT, and E is the signal energy during one bit interval T, is the carrier
frequency andphase of the carrier at the start of the bit. It is assumed in non-coherent receiver case thatis a random variable that is limited to range [-pi, pi] . Information bearing phasecan be stated as
where (i - 1)T <= t <= iT and = (a1, a2, ..., an) is uncorrelated equal-distributed binary sequence (a1 = 1) and h is an modulation index.
Modulation index determines in a very large extent the spectrum usage of the FSK-signal. In case where h=0.5, the resulting spectra of the signal is very narrow and this type of modulation is called as Minimum Shift Keying (MSK). When h = 1.0, spectra is very broad and demodulating this signal is easy, this kind of modulation is called as Sunde-FSK.
Frequency modulation is used in data communication systems mainly because [13]:
- Signal demodulation can be done with non-coherent receivers (i.e. there is no need to carrier synchronisation), and thus the receiver structures are very simple and cheap.
- FSK-signalling is quite immune against many non-linearities because FSK-signals are usually constant amplitude signals.
- FSK-signalling is very efficient in using all the available signalling energy to transfer information. Therefore, multi-frequency (MFSK) modulation is widely used in cases where the available power levels are small.
Bell 202 FSK modulation format uses two frequencies, 1200 Hz and 2200 Hz to carry information. Spectra of this kind of signal is shown in the figure 21. It is clearly seen from the figure, that the resulting signal easily fits on the audio channel of the FM-modulated radios. This is maybe the reason for the success of this modulation format in amateur community'modems of this kind are very easy to interface to the excisting radios.
Figure 21: Spectrum of 1200 bit/s Bell 202 FSK-signal
One of the most easiest way of demodulating FSK signal is by two narrow bandpass filters tuned to the signalling frequencies and comparing the levels coming from the filters. In this implementation, the frequency uncertainty must be small, because the narrow bandpass filters are on fixed frequencies.
In order to demodulate FSK modulated signal, the frequency of the sinusoidal signal buried in noise must be tracked. If the signal is known to be characterised by some number of parameters that vary only slowly, then the formalism of Kalman filtering [10] tells how the incoming, raw measurements of the signal should be processed to produce best parameter estimates as a function of time. For example, in our case the signal is frequency-modulated sine wave, then the slowly varying parameter to be estimated is the instantaneous frequency. It can be shown [23] that the Kalman filter for this case is called a phase-locked loop [13].
Phase-locked loop demodulator
We have implemented FSK demodulator using digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) which is frequency locked to the received signal. It is quite easy from this frequency indication to make the decision of the symbol transmitted. The signal block diagram of modem implementation is shown in figure 22. Received signal, y(t), is first filtered in order to reject unwanted noise components and to make the signal complex. Complex signal [13] has two components, real and imaginary part, and therefore can hold both the amplitude and phase of the sinusoidal signal at the same time. On the other hand, real signal can have only amplitude component (we cannot say to which direction the signal is going by observing only one point of the sinusoidal signal). Real signal can be converted to complex form with Hilbert transform [3]. Hilbert transformer looks the signal for a while and then makes the decision of the phase of the signal.
Figure 22: FSK demodulation with digital phase-locked loop
Using complex signals in phase-locked loops is useful, because in this case there is no image frequencies at the output of the phase comparator (mixer). In a theory, the received signal could have first bandpass filtered and then fed to the Hilbert-transformer, but this can be done in easier way. It can be shown, that when we filter the signal with two filters in parallel, the outputs from these filters form a complex pair, i.e. their outputs are in 90' phase difference, if the coefficients of the filters can be stated as
where h(n) is the impulse response of the baseband filter. This bandpass filter was designed using Hamming windowing method, because the passband should be maximally flat. The design parameters were: 37 taps, cut-off frequency 700 Hz. Coefficients from the SPW's FDS filter design program were multiplied with sine and cosine components at the center frequency (1600 Hz). The resulting amplitude response is shown in figure 23.
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Sunday, January 06, 2019
Open Studio
Choose any two hour time frame during our Open Studio hours. Artist are able to pick any painting off of the wall, Door Hanger*, Design A Sign* or Construct A Craft*. (This is NOT a step by step instruction class, but light instructions will be given with all materials provided.)
*If choosing a wood craft, please email email@example.com to indicate which craft you would like at least 24 hours in advance.
Please note that your price does not include beverages and Open Studio classes are open for all ages.
|Price per Person:
|$25 (+3.5% Materials Tax)
|If you have signed up online and cannot attend a class you must call 24 Hours in advance for cancellation. A gift card will be issued for a future session of equal value within ONE year of cancellation. There is no refund on merchandise purchased at Fear No Easel.

subset: commoncrawl


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Medical Providers
North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) appreciates the care you provide to injured workers and shares the goal of achieving the best possible outcomes. If an employee becomes injured or was already injured while on the job, the Medical Providers section is the official source of medical treatment information and should be used as a resource to assist in treating injured workers. Please review the information under the Treating Patients, Authorization, Billing/Payment, Pharmacy, and Resources sections to fully acquaint yourself with the regulations of a North Dakota's workers' compensation claim.
Treating Patients
The first step in the workers' compensation process is to ensure the injured worker has a claim filed with WSI. If you are treating a patient with a possible workers' compensation claim this section provides the needed information regarding general, chiropractic, therapy treatment; along with the official disability guidelines and MMI/PPI information.
This section includes information on prior authorization requirements, general guidelines, and durable medical equipment.
This section provides information on documentation guidelines, fee schedules, how to properly bill, payment adjustments, and provider remittance advice.
This section provides you with required authorizations, fee schedule, the first fill program, plan design, and formulary information.
WSI works to provide you with all the materials you will need if and when a workplace injury occurs. This section supplements the other sections of the website to ensure you have all the necessary forms, documents, access to services and more.


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Beyonce Channels Marilyn Monroe on Out Power Issue Cover, Explains Her Feminism
Beyonce covers the Power Issue of Out, channeling Marilyn Monroe and discussing her sometimes-challenged feminist politics.
Bey nabbing this particular cover is no surprise. The singer pulled the ultimate power move in December, releasing her fifth album without utilizing any traditional marketing means and vehicles. She handed it off to the Beyhive and changed the game for herself.
With her platinum waves and glowing skin, not to mention that neck bling, Bey is beautiful as ever.
However, the feature did not consist of a face-to-face chat. Usually, a live interview with a mag's cover subject is customary. But this is Bey's world. She instead corresponded with the magazine via email and allowed unprecedented access to her Parkwood Entertainment company.
That's no small consolation prize, either. That's Bey's inner sanctum and is comprised of those closest to her. So that's like having a front row seat to Bey's world.
Bey did address her choice to release the album on her terms, with no industry fanfare, saying it was "much freer than anything I'd done in the past. We really just tried to trust our instincts, embrace the moment, and keep it fun."
Despite her flawless image, Bey revealed that she liked the imperfections in some of the 'Beyonce' demos.
"When I recorded 'XO,' I was sick with a bad sinus infection," she recalled, explaining the process in the exchange. "I recorded it in a few minutes just as a demo and decided to keep the vocals. I lived with most of the songs for a year and never rerecorded the demo vocals. I really loved the imperfections, so I kept the original demos. I spent the time I'd normally spend on backgrounds and vocal production on getting the music perfect. There were days I spent solely on getting the perfect mix of sounds for the snare alone. Discipline, patience, control, truth, risk, and effortlessness were all things I thought about while I was putting this album together."
Bey's feminist politics were also a topic of discussion. The singer is all about girl power and female empowerment, but her stances are not without their detractors. Many critics took issue with the song 'Bow Down' and a controversial lyric in one of her songs pertaining to Tina Turner and her abusive relationship with Ike.
When discussing sexuality, Bey said, "I'd like to believe that my music opened up that conversation. There is unbelievable power in ownership, and women should own their sexuality. There is a double standard when it comes to sexuality that still persists. Men are free and women are not. That is crazy. The old lessons of submissiveness and fragility made us victims. Women are so much more than that. You can be a businesswoman, a mother, an artist, and a feminist — whatever you want to be — and still be a sexual being. It's not mutually exclusive."
She is right there!
Bey wanted to take the power back with her fifth album, which was an inherently feminist move. However, the singer was in a position to do so. She had the wherewithall and the history to allow her to do so. But she also had more to lose than a younger artist.
"While I am definitely conscious of all the different types of people who listen to my music, I really set out to make the most personal, honest, and best album I could make," she said. "I needed to free myself from the pressures and expectations of what I thought I should say or be, and just speak from the heart. Being that I am a woman in a male-dominated society, the feminist mentality rang true to me and became a way to personalize that struggle… But what I'm really referring to, and hoping for, is human rights and equality, not just that between a woman and a man. So I'm very happy if my words can ever inspire or empower someone who considers themselves an oppressed minority…We are all the same and we all want the same things: the right to be happy, to be just who we want to be and to love who we want to love."
That last statement there embodies why she was chosen to cover Out and its Power Issue.


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Over the next few days, I am going to blog about things you probably did not know about SELinux
1: Multiple semanage commands:
The semanage command is pretty slow. It can take 10-20 seconds for a semanage command to complete. semanage recompiles a huge amount of policy. In Fedora 15 we have almost 500,000 allow and dontaudit rules. The compiler checking each type, user, role, etc to make sure they are valid. I have seen people executing multiple semanage commands in post install of rpm spec files as well as people customizing lots of machines by executing setsebool, semodule and semanage commands. Not too many people realize you can run them all within the same transaction.
man semanage
Input local customizations
semanage [ -S store ] -i [ input_file | - ]
-i, --input
Take a set of commands from a specified file and load them in a
single transaction.
The xguest uses this in its post install.
semanage -S targeted -i - << _EOF
boolean -m --on allow_polyinstantiation
boolean -m --on xguest_connect_network
boolean -m --on xguest_mount_media
boolean -m --on xguest_use_bluetooth
It sets a bunch of boolean values. You can also manage different semanage commands within the same transaction.
semanage -i - << _EOF
port -a -t http_port_t -p tcp 81
fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/myweb(/.*)?"
boolean -m --on httpd_can_sendmail
user -a -R "staff_r system_r webadm_r" -r s0-s0:c0.c1023 webadm_u
login -m -s guest_u -r s0 __default__
Dan Walsh's Blog
Got SELinux?
( 2 comments — Leave a comment )
Doesn't seem to have these options on RH 5.2
These options are on RHEL6 and Fedora 13 and greater.
Sorry no RHEL5 support.


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Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs)
You are here
Theoretical maximum of $400/MWh (the 2012 Solar Alternative Compliance Payment, or SACP) or $0.40/kWh for SRECs used for compliance under the MD RPS*
Varies based on market conditions; as of March 2015 Maryland-sourced SRECs traded at average at $160/MWh ($0.16/kWh) as provided in SREC Trade.
All net-metered customers and renewable on-site generators in Maryland own all RECs or SRECs produced by their systems unless or until a customer or generator chooses to sell or otherwise transfer the RECs or SRECs to another party. A Maryland SREC has a three-year lifetime during which it is valid for compliance (i.e., the calendar year during which it was generated plus the next two calendar years). Once a facility qualifies as an eligible solar generator, it is eligible to produce SRECs for as long as it remains in service as an eligible generator. Residential solar water heating systems are not permitted to generate more than 5 SRECs annually.
Program Description
In order to begin producing SRECs for the Maryland RPS*, a solar generator must apply for certification as a qualifying generator from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). In general, a PV facility must be connected to the distribution grid serving Maryland** in order to qualify as a source of SRECs for meeting an electricity supplier's compliance obligation under the state RPS. However, through 2011 SRECs from solar facilities not connected to the distribution grid serving Maryland were eligible to be counted under the state RPS to the extent that SREC offers from Maryland facilities were not sufficient to meet the standard. In February 2012 the PSC determined that sufficient Maryland-sourced solar resources existed during 2011 to meet the standard, rendering out-of-state resources ineligible. Solar water heating facilities must be commissioned on or after June 1, 2011; not be used for the sole purpose of heating a pool or a hot tub; and use SRCC OG-100 certified equipment. Residential solar hot water systems are limited to producing maximum of 5 SRECs in a given year. SRECs produced by solar thermal systems are calculated by the conversion rate 1 SREC = 3,412 BTU.
After a facility is certified by the PSC, it must establish SREC account with the PJM-EIS Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS). In general, the system owner or their representative must enter energy generation data from a revenue-quality meter into the PJM-GATS system at least once annually in order to be issued an SREC. Owners of PV systems of 10 kilowatts (kW) or smaller (referred to as Level 1 solar facilities) that are used for on-site generation may use an engineering estimate based on an energy production schedule established by the PSC in lieu of providing actual generation data. Owners of systems that are not certified as Level 1 solar facilities are also required to submit an on-site generation form to the PSC within one week of entering their generation data into the PJM-GATs system. Non-residential solar water heating systems must be equipped with a meter that meets the standards of the International Organization of Legal Metrology (IOLM). Residential solar water heating systems may be equipped with an IOLM-compliant meter, or may use an SRCC OG-300 thermal performance rating for the purposes of SREC creation.
In a characteristic unique to Maryland, solar generators in Maryland are required to offer SRECs for sale to Maryland electricity suppliers prior to offering them for sale to any other buyer. In order to help generators comply with this requirement, the PSC operates a web site where generators can post SREC offers. Currently, SREC purchase contracts directly between a solar generator and an energy supplier must have a term of at least 15 years. However, as a result of H.B. 258, beginning October 1, 2012 the minimum term requirements will not apply to Level 1 facilities. For Level 1 solar facilities only, the purchase must take the form of a single, up-front payment arrived at by calculating the net present value of SRECs over the life of the contract using a standard SREC value of 80% of the SACP and federal secondary credit interest rate in effect as of January 1 of that year as the discount rate. If after 10 days the SREC(s) have not been sold to a Maryland electricity supplier, the facility owner is free to sell their SREC(s) to any buyer.
The PJM-GATS Public Reports web site contains a variety useful pieces of information, including monthly weighted average SREC trading prices for Maryland and other states. Note that the SREC trading prices reported here for each state refer to facilities located in that state. In some cases, the SRECs may have been sold into the SREC market in another state rather than the state of origin.
Maryland's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, enacted in May 2004 and revised in 2007 and 2008, requires electricity suppliers (all utilities and competitive retail suppliers) to use renewable energy sources to generate a minimum portion of their retail sales. The renewables requirement increases gradually, ultimately reaching a level of 20% from Tier 1 resources in 2022 and beyond, and 2.5% from Tier 2 resources from 2006 through 2018. The Tier 2 requirement sunsets at the end of 2018, dropping to 0% in 2019 and beyond. The law was amended in April 2007 to include a solar-photovoltaic (PV) requirement of 2% by 2022, which is included within the 20% by 2022 Tier I renewables requirement.
In May 2010 S.B. 277 accelerated the solar compliance schedule and made several other related changes to the law, but did not change the ultimate 2% by 2022 requirement. In May 2011 the law was amended yet again to allow solar water heating systems to qualify under the standard. In May 2012 the solar compliance requirements were accelerated again for the period from 2013 - 2020 and the ultimate target of 2% was solar moved up from 2022 to 2020 by S.B. 791. As with the other resource tiers, the requirement ramps up progressively over time in annual increments from an initial requirement of 0.005% in 2008, to 0.025% in 2010, and so forth towards the ultimate 2% by 2020 requirement.
*Solar facilities located in Maryland may also be eligible to participate in other states' SREC markets. In some cases this may allow SRECs sourced from facilities located in Maryland to trade above the theoretical price ceiling set by the SACP.
**Beginning in 2012, this criterion should in most cases limit qualification to solar facilities physically located in Maryland. In addition, it could also impose size limitations on facilities by requiring that facilities be connected to the grid at the distribution-level voltages, as opposed to transmission-level voltages.


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3 pierrepont place, brooklyn's most expensive home
Posted On Wed, February 4, 2015 By Diane Pham In
Posted On Wed, February 4, 2015 By Diane Pham In
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- VIDEO: See the city's highest rooftop pool get lifted 680 feet atop supertall Brooklyn Point
- 1,250-name waitlist opens for affordable co-ops at Chelsea's Penn South, starting at $84,000
- Chase Bank confirmed to join restaurants in Union Square Coffee Shop spot
- Reservations to climb Hudson Yards' giant public sculpture are open!
- 20 underground and secret NYC attractions you need to check out
- 100 things to do in NYC that are completely free
- All the free museum days in New York City
- From superheroes to speakeasies: 10 walking tours even New Yorkers will love


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It simply doesn't make sense to use ordinary disposable air conditioner filters anymore. Although individual disposable air filters are cheap, the costs will continue to accumulate with no end in sight; you'll easily spend hundreds of dollars if you continue using those disposable fiberglass filters for the rest of your life.
Instead, consider making the switch to the durable, washable furnace filters sold here on neverbuyanotherfilter.com. These electrostatic air filters are easy to rinse, clean and replace, eliminating the need for you to run to the store for more disposables. Electrostatic air filters will save you both time and money and you won't contribute to the growing burden on our nation's landfills by adding a dozen slow-biodegrading fiberglass filters to the heap every year.
As you explore neverbuyanotherfilter.com and consider your options for reusable filters, you'll also find a premium selection of air purification systems. These powerful machines can remove pet odors, dust and irritating allergens from the air inside your home, making every room more comfortable and pleasant..,


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The Washington Post
JERUSALEM — He had been dying a very long time, people said. Still, when the end came for Ariel Sharon, Israelis had a lot of emotion left.
"He was from the old generation. He was big man, and bigger than life, Israeli to the core," said Avi Green, a retired municipal worker here who had just heard the news.
Out of the public eye for eight years, lying comatose in a hospital bed since a debilitating stroke at the height of his political power in 2006, the former army general and prime minister remained a controversial figure in Israel, his life and times perennial subjects of debate.
In recent weeks, as Sharon's doctors provided daily assessments of his health, Israeli newspapers, television and radio stepped up their efforts to define his legacy.
At a news conference Saturday outside the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv where Sharon died, his son Gilad Sharon told reporters that even at the end, his father was managing his own narrative. "He passed when he decided it was time to go," he said.
Known as Arik — and called by his nickname, "the Bulldozer," in the media, for his once oversize bulk and his forceful will — Sharon was celebrated in death by his country and world leaders.
"I will never forget meeting with this big bear of a man when he became prime minister as he sought to bend the course of history toward peace, even as it meant testing the patience of his own longtime supporters and the limits of his own lifelong convictions," said Secretary of State John Kerry, who is engaged in his own mission to help Israelis and Palestinians resolve their old conflict.
President Barack Obama expressed condolences to Sharon's family and compatriots on the loss of a leader he said had "dedicated his life to the state of Israel."
"As Israel says goodbye to Prime Minister Sharon, we join with the Israeli people in honoring his commitment to his country," Obama said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called Sharon "one of the most significant figures in Israeli history" who as prime minister "took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated."
As defense minister, Sharon was called a war criminal by some after Phalangist Christians in 1982 wiped out Palestinians in refugee camps in Lebanon as Israeli forces stood by.
"His passing is another grim reminder that years of virtual impunity for rights abuses have done nothing to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace any closer," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch.
But as prime minister, Sharon led Israel's unilateral disengagement in 2005 from the Gaza Strip, uprooting some 8,000 Jewish settlers from the coastal enclave.
Sharon's body will lie in state in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, beginning Sunday. World leaders are expected to attend his memorial service Monday, with Vice President Joseph Biden representing the United States. Sharon will be buried at his farm in southern Israel in a more private service.
"They say that old soldiers never really die, they fade away," said Israel's justice minister, Tzipi Livni, who is Israel's lead negotiator in the current peace talks.
"Arik faded away eight years ago and now has finally left us. Even when he was prime minister he was a brave warrior, commander, leader and farmer whose feet were deeply planted in the soil of the land of Israel," Livni said. "In that large body of his beat a Jewish soul that cared for the Jewish people around the world."
Israeli President Shimon Peres said: "Arik was a brave soldier and a daring leader who loved his nation and his nation loved him. He was one of Israel's great protectors and most important architects, who knew no fear and certainly never feared vision."


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Sunday the 12th of February was the last day we could go ice skating because on Monday the temperature was going to be above 0 degrees Celsius. We didn't go ice skating early in the morning, because we were still a bit tired from the day before when we skated 68 km. We decided to go to a tour nearby called the "2 provinciën tocht" which is right on the border of two Dutch states: Zuid-Holland & Utrecht. The tour took us across the typical Dutch polder landscape past several beautiful windmills. Along the way our log had to be signed in Vlist, Polsbroekerdam & Polsbroek. Eventually, after skating a little under 40km, we could pick up our medal at the starting point in Haastrecht. Although it was cloudy the entire day it wasn't very cold, because the temperature was already rising and it wasn't very windy. We had a great final day on the ice and our now almost ready to finish the ice skating season.
Bellow you'll find a GPS track log and a couple of pictures:
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How we are governed
E-ACT is a charitable company limited by guarantee. Our primary regulator is the Department for Education, and our charitable objects are set out in our Articles of Association.
For further information on how E-ACT is funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency please refer to our Master Funding Agreement which contains the supplemental funding agreements for our academies.
Our trustees
Our Board of Trustees are the guardians of E-ACT's purpose and are ultimately accountable for the organisation.
Led by the Chair of the Board of Trustees Michael Wemms, the board is comprised of eight independent volunteers chosen for their expertise and experience gained in a diverse range of industries in both the private and public sectors. E-ACT's board also includes the chief executive who is an ex officio trustee.
Click here for further information on our trustees. See E-ACT's Annual Report for trustee attendance records at board and committee meetings over the last academic year.
Meet our Executive Leadership Team
The Board of Trustees is supported by the Executive Leadership Team.
Led by Chief Executive David Moran the Executive Leadership Team is responsible for overseeing the implementation and delivery of organisational strategy as set by the Board of Trustees.
Click here for further information on our Executive Leadership Team
Five regions, one E-ACT
E-ACT supports its 29 academies through five regional clusters in Daventry, London and Bucks, Midlands, North and South West.
Each of these is led by a regional education director (RED) and a regional operations director (ROD) and is supported by a team of system experts in areas like safeguarding.
Our REDs and RODs work closely with their academies and meet academy leadership formally through six weekly Raising Achievement Boards. In turn the Executive Leadership Team meets with REDs and RODs through six weekly formal Regional Performance Boards.
Regional Team who work with The Crest Academy:
|Regional Director of Education
|Mr Lee Northern
|Regional Operations Director
|Mr Chris Wiseman
|Regional Data and Assessment System Leader
|Mr Paul Robinson
|Regional Inclusion System Leader
|Ms Rebecca Leek
|Regional Attendance, Safeguarding and Behaviour System Leader
|Ms Sue Challen
|Regional English System Leader
|Ms Michelle Pereira
|Regional Maths System Leader
|Mr Mustafa Hussein
|Regional Science System Leader
|Ms Samah Adnan
Our Ambassadorial Advisory Group
Our Ambassadorial Advisory Group is made up of people who share a great passion for our academy.
Led by a chairperson, AAGs meet once per term, and will have at least two parent ambassadors elected to the group. They work closely with headteachers, regional and national staff as well as our trustees, and focus on the four Cs of Communication, Celebration, Complaints and Community.
For more information and key E-ACT governance documents please click here.


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Predators edged by Flyers in shootout 3-2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vincent Lecavalier scored the only goal in the shootout, and the Philadelphia Flyers started a six-game road trip by edging the Nashville Predators 3-2 Saturday night for their second straight win.
Claude Giroux scored in the first period, and Sean Couturier's goal at 13:06 of the third tied it up at 2-2 to help the Flyers reach the shootout.
Article continues below ...
Steve Mason made 34 saves and stopped Craig Smith, Matt Hendricks and Matt Cullen in the shootout for the win.
Mike Fisher and Colin Wilson each scored for Nashville, which has lost two straight.
The Predators were playing their fourth game in six nights and without captain Shea Weber who is day to day with an eye injury after taking a puck to the face in Thursday night's 3-0 loss to the Oilers.
Their most experienced defenseman on the ice was Roman Josi with 116 career NHL games.
Mason gave the Flyers a chance to win in the shootout. He had a big save inside the final 30 seconds of regulation when Seth Jones passed to David Legwand for a shot in front.
In overtime, Wilson hit a post at 2:30, and Mason stopped him on a breakaway with about 30 seconds left. Matt Read was wide on a shot on Nashville goalie Marek Mazanec during the extra period.
In the shootout, Lecavalier was the first shooter for the Flyers and beat Mazanec with a forehand. Giroux was stopped at the post, but the Flyers didn't need a third shooter when Cullen missed.
Not only did Nashville not have their leading goal-scorer in Weber, but defenseman Kevin Klein also was out for the Predators with a lower body injury, their team leader with 58 blocked shots.
The Flyers missed a prime chance at scoring on their lone power play of the first period when a shot slipped under Mazanec and was lying just near the line only to be poked away by Philadelphia forward Jakub Voracek. The Flyers went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
A couple of minutes after the power play ended, the Flyers took advantage of a Nashville turnover as Giroux scored on a slap shot that went up into the net over Mazanec at 16:49.
The Predators answered right back a minute later when Fisher's snap shot from the left circle beat Mason five-hole.
Giroux hit the post during the Flyers' second power play early in the third period, and Nashville killed it off.
Then Wilson put a backhand under Mason's left leg at 5:05 to put Nashville ahead 2-1. Couturier tied it up when Andrej Meszaros found him in front at 13:06.