When you get in your car for the drive home, you might decide to pop in your favorite music CD or just plug your smart phone or MP3 player straight into your auto stereo. This is a great convenience thanks to digital technology and many of these devices make life better. However, there is still something to say for analog circuit design in modern times and here are just a few reasons to keep this technology alive, well into the 21st Century.
Digital Electronics Cannot Do It All
Have you ever tried to print out a cursive font? Chances are, it didn’t look like someone hand wrote it. Digital printing requires all the connective points to be in the same area and this is like trying to stamp a cursive font onto paper with ink. You usually come out with a mechanical looking font which is a poor substitute for cursive writing.
Why does cursive digital printing look so mechanical? For one thing, you have no variances in the technique. When someone writes by hand, some lines are thinner and darker than others and this effect cannot be captured digitally. Only by manually writing can this look be properly duplicated. You can do this with a computer and specially designed stylus. However, this is still basically a manual operation.
Analog Circuit Design is Making a Comeback
Have noticed more and more people are buying vinyl record albums these days and listening to them on turntables? After many years of digital CDs, a lot of people are coming back to the warm sound of a needle on a record.
Older people may be doing it for the nostalgia. For example, listening to your favorite music from the 70s (in the same manner as the 70s) can bring back the feeling that comes with memories of a carefree lifestyle full of fun and excitement. In any manner, this is creating a greater demand for analog circuit design.
Electric Motor Control
Some of the best industrial motor controls are analog circuits with motor starters, contactors, push buttons and timers. These components are proven to be very dependable and because they are so simple, they are easy to install, troubleshoot, repair and will last for many years. Logic circuits have their place, but in many operations today, the simplest motor control is the least expensive and most effective. Computer technology is everywhere these days, but there are still some things computers cannot do and some operations can still benefit from the right analog circuit design.
