All posts filed under: Reference

The FreeRTOS Tick – Unravel the Mystery to Master the Tick

Published by Joe

Over the last few years, I have become a fan of FreeRTOS for a few different reasons: It’s free (though a paid versions allow for some protection) Portable as it abstracts well from the hardware it runs on Provides an easy way to separate sections of code Allows for control of when, and how often, tasks are run It’s the last point that this post will delve into. How does each thread (tasks in FreeRTOS speak) control when they run? It all comes down to the ‘tick,’ the magical trigger that FreeRTOS uses to know when to switch which task is running or give up waiting for a semaphore that will never be given. What Drives the FreeRTOS Tick It all comes from the FreeRTOS Tick – the function that is called at a periodic interval. As we will see below, this tick drives the context switch between tasks. But first, what drives this tick? At the simplest level, the tick is just a timer that has a period set to match the desired tick rate. …

The FAE, Sales Rep, Distributor and You

Published by Joe

As the New Product Introduction process starts, a confusing relationship starts to unravel between your company, your manufacturer and the maker of the parts you are attempting to buy. Somewhere in that mix, a distributor steps in to provide the needed parts to your manufacturer, sales representatives from all sorts of companies start calling on you, and your technical questions are redirected to mysterious FAEs. But who are all these companies and how do they interrelate? And before you shrug it off and don’t think any of them matter to you (they’re ‘business people stuff’) I can tell you from experience that FAEs can be the difference between getting a part to work and hitting my head against a wall for weeks. And a good sales rep and distributor will not only help you find the right parts to meet your needs, they also drive pricing. Meaning they can bring your product from out of reach due to cost to exceeding margin expectations. The Four Main players When manufacturing a product, there are four main players that …