Slowly digging through boxes and setting up the shop; testing the DMA loader logic uncovered an issue

SETTING UP THE SHOP

As this is a new space, I am not certain of the best arrangement of equipment, tables and the many boxes of components I have. Further, the boxes were all taped shut and are piled in random order in large heaps. I am still pulling tape off boxes, although probably eighty percent have been done by now. 

With the heaps piled along the walls, each time I decide to place a table I first have to drag boxes and equipment away from that area to make room. I have five of over twenty tables in place, at least to a temporary location. Then when all the boxes and other items are moved and the tables are placed, I have quite a few boxes which are either unsorted or that need further division into smaller boxes to make searching easier. 

BREADBOARD TEST RUN ON THE MAIN SEQUENCING LOGIC OF THE LOADER

I used my Cadet breadboard to set up eight of the chips from the design, ignoring all the output buffer chips for the time being because once the enable signals are emitted at the right times, they are certain to work correctly. 

I found that my scheme to reset at the end of a cycle was timing sensitive and potentially glitchy. I revamped the circuit, which had the side effect of cutting two chips from the design. All the online logic simulations show it to be solid, but I will go back to the breadboard and make sure it is rock solid before committing the updated layout to the PCB plant. 

BUSY DAY AT THE CAPE TOMORROW - NO TIME FOR THE SHOP

I am supporting two launches tomorrow - a SpaceX Falcon 9 launching Starlink satellites, and a ULA Atlas launching the Boeing Starliner capsule with two astronauts. I am helping secure one viewing location. In between, the monthly SF Museum volunteer meeting will take place. Basically I will be onsite the entire day and evening.