Anybody using Anadigm FPAA's?

[Dan K]

FPAA is a "field programmable analog array". I've been thinking of buying
their development board ($200) to play around with. Their subwoofer filter
sounds like something I would like to try. I'm not real proficient with
analog, but I gather that might be one of the advantages to FPAA's as it
looks like their s/w can handle a lot of the analog pit-falls for you.
Anybody got any experience? good/bad? easy/hard? comments?

Thanks - Dan K

 

[John Larkin]

FPAA is a "field programmable analog array". I've been thinking of buying
their development board ($200) to play around with. Their subwoofer filter
sounds like something I would like to try. I'm not real proficient with
analog, but I gather that might be one of the advantages to FPAA's as it
looks like their s/w can handle a lot of the analog pit-falls for you.
Anybody got any experience? good/bad? easy/hard? comments?

Thanks - Dan K

Never used an analog array, and never heard of anyone who did. They
seem awfully limited and rather expensive.

John

 

[Keith Wootten]

Never used an analog array, and never heard of anyone who did. They
seem awfully limited and rather expensive.

John

I looked at them a while back, but struggled to think of an application
which couldn't be done better/cheaper in other ways. They would
probably be fun to play around with if you have the time and spare. One
of the manufacturers ran a competition to come up with an application -
I don't remember the winning entry, which kind of says it all.

Cheers

 

[Ben Bradley]

FPAA is a "field programmable analog array". I've been thinking of buying
their development board ($200) to play around with. Their subwoofer filter
sounds like something I would like to try. I'm not real proficient with
analog, but I gather that might be one of the advantages to FPAA's as it
looks like their s/w can handle a lot of the analog pit-falls for you.
Anybody got any experience? good/bad? easy/hard? comments?

For well under $200 you can buy Don Lancaster's Active Filter
Cookbook, and some excellent audio op-amps and passive components from
Digikey and make your own "suboofer filter" that has much better specs
(lower noise, lower distortion) than the FPAA.
Anadigm's parts are apparently the same ones Motorola was trying to
sell in the late '90's, and gave up on after only a year or two. IIRC,
the specs of the internal op-amps are really bad, and will make one
long for 741's. I know there's got to be some really good, neat
applications for these things, but I just can't think of one.

 

[Robert Lacoste]

FPAA is a "field programmable analog array". I've been thinking of buying
their development board ($200) to play around with. Their subwoofer
filter
sounds like something I would like to try. I'm not real proficient with
analog, but I gather that might be one of the advantages to FPAA's as it
looks like their s/w can handle a lot of the analog pit-falls for you.
Anybody got any experience? good/bad? easy/hard? comments?

Anadigm's FPAA are really exciting components. Easy development tools,
reasonnably good analog performances. For example I implemented with them a
10KHz low pass filter, with a measured -30dB point at 12.9KHz compared to
the theoretical 13KHz, and 0,08dB stability in the passband. The isolation
in the stop band was measured as high as -80dB at 2xFc. Not bad... I also
tried a 10KHz narrow bandpass filter, and got -30dB at 9,3KHz and 10,8KHz.
Notch filters are also easy to build.

However for "simple" fixed filters these components are not the best choice
: why not just using standard switch cap filters or even a pair of
operationnal amplifiers ? However as soon as you need any form of
reconfiguration of the analog blocs, or a more complex function (like captor
linearisation) then these components are really exciting. And I don't say
that because I am a certified AnadigmPro consultant ;+)

Friendly yours,

--
Robert Lacoste
ALCIOM - The mixed signal experts
www.alciom.com

To contact us, thanks to click on the antispam link below :
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[John Larkin]

I looked at them a while back, but struggled to think of an application
which couldn't be done better/cheaper in other ways. They would
probably be fun to play around with if you have the time and spare. One
of the manufacturers ran a competition to come up with an application -
I don't remember the winning entry, which kind of says it all.

Cheers

Programmable logic devices, especially FPGAs, are stunning, and give a
designer enormous freedom. Somehow it's hard for me to envision a
similarly useful analog architecture.

What I'd like is just a simple precision resistor network,
programmable via SPI or jtag or something, ideally nonvolatile, maybe
a matrix or something.

John

 

[Bob Stephens]

Programmable logic devices, especially FPGAs, are stunning, and give a
designer enormous freedom. Somehow it's hard for me to envision a
similarly useful analog architecture.

What I'd like is just a simple precision resistor network,
programmable via SPI or jtag or something, ideally nonvolatile, maybe
a matrix or something.

John

Linear Technologies has a new series of congifurable opamps which almost
get it right. You can configure the devices for various topologies and
gains - selecting different on-chip precision resistor configurations by
strapping various pins. I told their apps engineers when they were here
that what would be really neat is if you could reconfigure the things on
the fly via SPI, I2C or whatever. They didn't seem to think much of the
idea...


Bob

 

[John Larkin]

Linear Technologies has a new series of congifurable opamps which almost
get it right. You can configure the devices for various topologies and
gains - selecting different on-chip precision resistor configurations by
strapping various pins. I told their apps engineers when they were here
that what would be really neat is if you could reconfigure the things on
the fly via SPI, I2C or whatever. They didn't seem to think much of the
idea...


Bob

Yeah, I saw them in a mag recently. They do look handy. I really don't
mind "programming" them with traces and solder.

John