Past ProjectsThese include some of the projects I have been involved with as a permenant employee before BAK Software was set up:-
Wireless Switches and Controllers
The WX1200 Wireless LAN Switch and WX4400 Wireless LAN Controller are an OEM development based on software and hardware from Trapeze Networks. The devices offer the following features:-
Wireless Switch Manager
The Wireless Switch Manager Software is a standalone Java application. It was developed from 'Ringmaster' from Trapeze Networks and provides the following features:-
Ethernet Switches
Superstack 3 is a range of stackable 10/100 Layer 2 Ethernet switches offering a number of port options including Power over Ethernet, 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX, 100BASE-FX. Features include:-
The devices employ an embedded software agent running on Motorola Coldfire or MIPs processors to configure and control the ASICs that handle the wire-speed switching of Ethernet packets.
Imagesetters
Fujifilm Luxel Image-setter designs employ multiple beam optics to increase productivity. They use a distributed control architecture comprising a number of separate PCBs linked using a serial 'CAN' bus to provide modularity and reduce wiring costs. Historical Projects from the archives
Imagesetters
The CELIX Imagesetter family comprised three different size units using roll-fed film and a direct Computer-To-Plate machine. Despite the considerable differences in the optical and mechanical configurations, the software design allowed the re-use of many common modules in the different machine variants. Scanners
In the early days of desktop publishing, PCs such as the Apple Macintosh had insufficient power to handle many image processing tasks without additional hardware acceleration. To overcome this limitation, the scanners group produced accelerator cards for both Apple Mac and IBM RS6000 workstations using proprietary ASICs. The cards were designed to speed up operations such as retouch, colour conversion, image re-sizing and un-sharp masking. When fed with data from an input scanner, the cards allowed the image data to be processed on-the-fly in real-time. Data was transferred between the card and host PC using DMA. Software developed for the cards included image processing libraries and device drivers for both MacOS and AIX Operating Systems. WydnetWYDNET was a communications system designed to enable editorial offices to be linked to remote printing sites over Wide Area Networks.A transmit site at an editorial office typically contained devices such as a Facsimile Reader or Raster Image Processor, Compressor and local disk store, linked via a cross-connect switch to a network transmitter. The transmitter was connected to one or more receive sites over high-speed leased-lines or satellite links. Receive sites contained devices such as De-compressors, Facsimile Writers etc. Each site was controlled by a PC responsible for the set-up of connections through the switch and across the network. The first generation transmitter/receiver and compressor/decompressor used rack mounted VME boards. This was later replaced by a low-cost system using PC expansion cards and Motorola 56xxx DSPs. A number of network devices and interfaces were developed using similar DSP based PC expansion cards. These included T2 and G703 Communication Interfaces and SCSI and serial PostScript RIP Interfaces. WYDNET was sold to newspaper companies world wide including the Financial Times and American Colour. Gravure
In traditional gravure printing, an original image is scanned on a large format drum using up to 12 scanning heads. The output from each scan head is sent to an engraving head which pecks tiny indentations in a copper cylinder using a diamond stylus. These indentations hold the ink used during printing. During operation both scanning and engraving cylinders rotate in sync.
The HK202 interface enabled Crosfield format compressed files held on disk to be output to the engraver and optionally overlayed with the data from the scanner. The HK202 engraver was similar in appearance to the later HK405 shown above (scanning cylinder not shown). The interface comprised 7 VME boards:-
Data Communications Test Instruments
It comprised a pattern generator and bit error detector using customised ULAs controlled by three processors linked over a serial bus. It provided error performance measurements such as bit-error-rate, %error-free-seconds, time stamped error log etc. The TF2871 was a second-generation product providing enhanced functionality to enable the instrument to be sold to other manufacturers and PTTs. Television Signal Test InstrumentsThe TF2924 was designed as part of a transmitter monitoring system for the IBA when Channel 4 was first introduced.The equipment measured video signal parameters at different points in the signal path, compared results against limits and signalled fault conditions to a remote Station Controller. Telecommunications Test Instruments
The Selective Level Measuring Set (SLMS) was Marconi's first microprocessor controlled test instrument. It comprised the TF2357 Selective Level Meter and TF2356 Signal Generator. The SLMS was used for testing analogue FDM telephone systems in the days before PCM. The TF2356 and TF2357 could be operated remotely over an IEEE-488 GPIB interface. This allowed the units to be controlled from the Marconi Automatic Baseband Monitor for fully automated FDM system monitoring. The TF2357 was a highly accurate superhet receiver, tuneable from 50Hz - 20MHz. Selectable filters were provided for pilot tone level, voice channel and group power measurements. Auto-calibration ensured accurate measurements over the full frequency range. The internal BFO (Beat Frequency Oscillator) allowed the frequency response of networks and filters to be easily characterised. Both instruments employed an identical low phase-noise 30-50MHz digital frequency synthesiser. The TF2356 used a frequency compensated attenuator to provide accurate power levels from +10dBm to -70dBm. |
