[sdiy] DSP cards

[jbv]

Neil,

> but I prefer to spend my leisure time on the bits which
> interest me.

Agreed, but the problem is that both sides interest me :
hardware & software... Furthermore, I know by experience
that designing both simultaneously is a good way to add new
& exciting features to a project...

> The Chameleon DSP module (OK, its not PCI, but I think it is still worth
> looking into) dev.kit includes all the documentation and development tools
> you need.  Either check out the Sound Art website or ask Paul Maddox what
> tools developers get to play with.
>
> The DSP cards sold for signal processing, e.g. cards from TransTech-DSP,
> come with _everything_ you need to port applications to their cards.
> After all, that is what they are made for.  They have written the Windows
> device drivers and firmware for the cards, so you can concentrate on
> writing DSP algorithms and not fighting an operating system that is a pig
> to write low-level code for.
>

I see your point. Probably the first step would be to use
an existing DSP card (or the Chameleon) and try to develop
a graphic interface to play with the existing code, just to get
an idea of what is possible and what isn't...

But OTOH consider this : first I mention my attempt to emulate
a DSP with a uC, a multiplier and some SRAM, and someone tells
me there's some easy-to-implement & cheap DSP.
Then I suggest to put such a DSP on a PCI card, and someone else
tells me there's plenty of such cards with dev. tools and DSP code.
Perhaps tomorrow someone will tell me to forget about DIY and buy
some Korg or Roland gear...

Yes, I know I'm overreacting. But a valid question remains :
if the target is gear & musical innovation, how much of this
research can rely on existing gear, and how much needs new design ?

JB