Experiments With Digital Noise Generation
Well, it has been so long since I started my blog that I forgotten how to go about making entries! My only excuse - lack of time! Time's a wasting so let's talk about my most recent endeavor - looking for a digital white noise generator. The application is a low parts count 'steam sound' generator for an O-gauge model railroad engine. I have several circuits which used conventional analog circuits but why do things the old fashion way! Let's jump in and use a digital noise generator.

Now using digital noise generators is NOT a new technology - from my research, people have been doing it for a least 30 years. Not even new to me - at least in concept. But boiling something down to practice and, even more challenging, understanding what I am doing - that should be both interesting and mind stretching. Goodness knows stretching my capabilities is a good thing.

Basically I want to try using a small microprocessor to generate a white noise - this will be Phase 1. Then, Phase 2, I will expand that to make a 'steam sound' simulator for a model railroad engine. That should keep me busy for a while.

The microprocessor will be a TI MSP430F2013 - I have a engineering demo unit plus compiler/debugger to match it. If I get that to work, I also have a new Freescale processor which I would like to try - it promises to have more resources that might be handy.

One good source of information is on Wikipedia and I have been reading that and experimenting using a Spice simulator (LTSpice - an excellent and free Spice program from Linear Technology - did you get the FREE part!). Having a lot of fun getting my brain around what is going on. Nothing like combining theory with real-world experimentation. Well, ok, not quite 'real-world' but at least simulation. Quick and easy and very interesting. More to come.