Articles – Page 2

The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 5: Final Thoughts

December 2, 2024

Towards the end of my interview with Chas Gilmore – formerly the VP of product development, marketing, and sales at the Heath Company – I realized we had not touched on a couple of questions I’d sent to him in preparation for our Zoom call in October: whether any particular Heathkits stood out in his mind, and if he remembered the Heathkit Microwave Oven kit I’d built in the early 1970s. Here are his final recollections from the interview.

Chas Gilmore: You asked if any other particularly ambitious kits come to … Read More → "The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 5: Final Thoughts"

AI-Powered Documentation Generator and Understander

by Max Maxfield

November 26, 2024

Documentation is one of those things that people love or loathe. The people who create it typically loathe doing so. The people who use it can go either way depending on how well it’s written.

I was talking to a friend just a few minutes before I commenced this column. We will call my friend Joe (because that’s his name). Joe has strong views on this topic. Joe is less than happy. Joe says he’s spent the past week trying to decipher documentation that was obviously written by multiple people … Read More → "AI-Powered Documentation Generator and Understander"

The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 4: The Demise of Heathkit

by Steven Leibson

November 25, 2024

Chas Gilmore joined the Heath Company in 1966 as a design engineer in the company’s Scientific Instruments group. By 1976, he was director of engineering for Heath’s technical products, which included amateur radio, instrumentation, marine, automotive, and weather products. This article, Part 4 of a series based on an interview with Gilmore, discusses the Heath Company’s changes after its acquisition by Zenith and then subsequently by France’s Groupe Bull. The article begins with Gilmore’s first departure from Heath in 1977 and then continues with his return to Heath in the early 1980s. Gilmore discusses the factors … Read More → "The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 4: The Demise of Heathkit"

Taking the Size and Power of Extreme Edge AI/ML to the Extreme Minimum

by Max Maxfield

November 21, 2024

Earlier this year, I penned a couple of columns under the umbrella title “Mind-Boggling Neuromorphic Brain Chips.” One of the first comments I received concerning these columns was short, sharp, and sweet, simply reading, “Also, Brain-Boggling.”

Arrrggghhh. How did I miss that? How could I not have used “Brain-Boggling Neuromorphic Brain Chips”? There was much gnashing of teeth and rending of garb that day, let me tell you.

The articles in question (see Part 1</ … Read More → "Taking the Size and Power of Extreme Edge AI/ML to the Extreme Minimum"

The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 3: The Microcomputer Kit Era

by Steven Leibson

November 18, 2024

Chas Gilmore joined the Heath Company in 1966 as a design engineer in the company’s Scientific Instruments group. By 1976, he was director of engineering for Heath’s technical products, which included amateur radio, instrumentation, marine, automotive, and weather products. This article, Part 3 of a series, includes portions of an interview I conducted with Gilmore in October. This article picks up Gilmore’s narrative starting in 1976 and includes the development of Heath’s early microcomputer products, starting with the H8.

In the early part of the interview, Gilmore described meeting and working with Lou … Read More → "The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 3: The Microcomputer Kit Era"

Intelligently Transporting Electrical and Optical Signals

by Max Maxfield

November 14, 2024

Back in the day, when computers ran standalone and there was no such thing as networks, I used to be reasonably confident that I had at least a vague understanding as to what was going on. Silicon chips talked to other silicon chips and circuit boards talked to other circuit boards using electrical signals travelling over copper wires. If you wanted to send a message over longer distances, you could write a letter, make a phone call, or send a telegram (well, that’s the way it felt).

As an aside, one of … Read More → "Intelligently Transporting Electrical and Optical Signals"

The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 2: The 1960s through the mid-1970s

by Steven Leibson

November 13, 2024

Chas Gilmore joined the Heath Company in 1966 as a design engineer in the company’s Scientific Instruments group and worked at the Heath Company on and off for more than two decades, eventually becoming VP of product development, marketing, and sales. This article includes portions of an interview I conducted with Gilmore in October. It covers the heyday of pre-computer Heathkits in the 1960s and 1970s.

Steve Leibson: You joined Heath in 1966.

Chas Gilmore: I was with the Scientific Instruments group at that time. The … Read More → "The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 2: The 1960s through the mid-1970s"

There’s Exciting News on the Multi-Modal AI SoC Front

by Max Maxfield

November 12, 2024

As is often the case, I’m amazed by how so many things seem to be interrelated and interconnected. I’m sorry… I feel an aside coming on… I cannot help myself… just saying “interconnected” reminds me of the book “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” which was written by the late great Douglas Adams.

As you may recall, Dirk is an unconventional detective who believes in the “fundamental interconnectedness of all things.” The idea is that everything in the universe is interrelated, meaning that even seemingly random events or trivial details can … Read More → "There’s Exciting News on the Multi-Modal AI SoC Front"

The Rise and Fall of Heathkit – Part 1: Early Days

by Steven Leibson

November 11, 2024

If you came of age in the 1960s or 1970s and then later became an EE, chances are you’re more than casually acquainted with Heathkit. Many engineers started their budding careers by building one or more kits made by the Heath Company. I certainly did. When I stumbled across a brief interview with Chas Gilmore, who joined the Heath Company in 1966 as a design engineer and worked at the Heath Company on and off for more than two decades, eventually becoming VP of product development, marketing, and sales, I knew I needed to interview him.

< … Read More →

Customized Analog ASSPs for Smart Factories and Industry 4.0

by Max Maxfield

November 7, 2024

I’m a digital logic design engineer by trade. In this uncertain world in which we live, I find comfort and take solace in the fact that you know where you stand with a trusty 0 or 1 in the digital domain. By comparison, I view the wibbly-wobbly analog arena as being inherently unsure, undecided, and uncertain. You never know what to expect with an analog signal.

Ironically, this means I have tremendous respect for those who dive deeply into the analog waters (although I have to say their view that digital is only a … Read More → "Customized Analog ASSPs for Smart Factories and Industry 4.0"