Friday 31 May 2013

All the way from across the pond.... Sarsen welcomes visitors from BittWare next week.

Next week Sarsen are playing host to Jeff Milrod and Chad Hamilton from BittWare, and we’ll be taking them into the city to visit some of our customers in the Financial Services sector.

Chad Hamilton and Jeff Milrod of BittWare
BittWare has designed and developed a family of PCIe format Altera Stratix V FPGA hardware optimised for this marketplace. These kinds of applications require ultra-low latency feed handling as well as super fast analysis and data correlation. BittWare offers FPGA-based PCIe COTS solutions to address the challenges of developing financial applications.

S5-PCIe - Altera Stratix® V GX/GS FPGA PCIe board from BittWare

High frequency automated financial trading uses simulations to provide real-time assistance in decision making. With multiple lanes of 10GigE straight to the FPGA and PCI Express Gen 2, combined with on-board memory and optional TOE, as well as additional built-in support for 40 GigE and PCIe Gen3, the financial industry has taken notice of BittWare’s’ range of Stratix V boards.


In addition to the hardware, the Open Computing Language (OpenCL™) programming model is now supported on Altera’s Stratix® V FPGA architecture and BittWare’s Stratix V FPGA COTS hardware, providing an incredibly powerful solution for system acceleration.

BittWare's OpenCL Bundle is available from Sarsen Technology

For more information about how these solutions could benefit your application please get in touch with the Sarsen Team, on +44 16672 511177, or email us – info@sarsen.net

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Everyone knows a ' Dave '..... But do you know THIS Dave?


Drum roll please……

Sarsen Technology has been named as the exclusive UK distributor for Dave S.R.L embedded modules!

Exciting times!!

Dave was founded in 1998 as an engineering services company, and has since established itself as one of the leading European companies for embedded solutions. This expands our already pretty extensive product portfolio, to include ARM-based CPU Modules and Turnkey Systems to customers across the UK and Ireland.


The latest product in the Dave line up is the Bora – A dual Cortex-A9 + FPGA CPU module, based on the recent Xilinx "Zynq" XC7Z010 / XC7Z020 application processor. Bora offers great computational power thanks to the rich set of peripherals, the Dual Cortex-A9 and the Artix7 FPGA inside.


We are looking forward to getting stuck in to some new opportunities – targeted towards low cost, high volume projects, Dave will allow us to boldly go where we may not have been able to go before...

A final word from the boss –
We are excited to work with DAVE. We believe that the wide range of embedded modules from DAVE coupled with our market development expertise will mean that the DAVE embedded solutions will be a great success in the UK and Ireland. DAVE’s innovative ARM CPU modules and Zynq FPGA modules cut project development costs and improve time- to- market for our OEM customers in industrial, transportation, home automation, medical, networking, smart grid and telecom markets.”

For more information about the new relationship, or any of the Dave products please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or drop us an email.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

“SarsenWatch” – New life on the Sarsen balcony this Spring!

We’ll soon be hearing the pitter patter of tiny feet. Or even the flippy flap of tiny wings....

Our balcony is now home sweet home to a pair of pigeons, who have built a little nest in a recess in the wall, and laid three eggs. Having never seen a baby pigeon before, we searched for some pictures online, expecting to see a cute fluffy little chick. It turns out baby pigeons aren’t like baby ducks or baby chickens.

At all. 

Our resident Mummy Pigeon

But I’m sure Mummy pigeon will love them just the same...

In looking for pictures online we realised we didn't know much about pigeons at all. For example, did you know that the word ‘pigeon’ is actually derived from the Latin word ‘pipio’ which meant ‘young bird’. The word then passed into Old French as ‘pijon’ and so the English name ‘pigeon’ was derived, and is now used the world over as a common name for the Rock Dove.

Some other pigeon trivia -
  • Most of our domesticated pigeons have a common ancestor, the Rock Dove pigeon.
  • Unless separated, pigeons mate for life. Awww.
  • They have been known to live over 30 years.
  • The ability to hear sounds 11 octaves below middle C allows the pigeons to detect earthquakes and electrical storms.
  • Young dependant pigeons are commonly known as ‘squabs’.

It takes 2-3 weeks for a pigeon egg to hatch, and another month or so before the baby can fly the nest, so we’ll report back with updates over the coming days.

We always wanted an office pet...

Friday 17 May 2013

It Ain’t What You Do It’s The Place That You Do It!

We have a big window in the Sarsen Technology front office, giving us fabulous views of Marlborough High Street. This gives us a premium vantage point to witness all the day to day activity and sometimes even dramas that occur right outside our door.

Marlborough High Street view from our office

This morning we have witnessed an irate builder getting a parking ticket, a couple of near misses with a bus and a fabulous lady dressed head to foot in red, from her hat to her shoes. Better than daytime TV anyway!

Working here has plenty of benefits. It’s not a swanky office block with a slide rather than stairs (note to the boss – can we have a slide pleeeease?) but it’s a fabulous old building with loads of character - high ceilings, slightly wonky stairs and a terrifying dungeon. I mean, basement!

Slide Slide Slide!!

It can be cold in the winter – original wooden sash windows don’t really insulate, but the balcony makes up for it in the summer. We have prime seating for local events like the Jazz Festival and Olympic Torch Relay, and with 8 pubs within walking distance Friday lunchtimes are catered for as well!

Tim on the balcony for the Olympic Torch Relay

We have been in this office for about 6 years, and we’ve decided it’s time for a little facelift. So we’re looking at new artwork, some new photos for our Rogues Gallery, and possibly a little paint splashed around here and there. It’s a great place to work, but like everything good, it needs a little helping hand to stay at its best.

Decor ideas on a postcard to Sarsen Technology!

Have a great weekend.

Tuesday 14 May 2013

All New OpenCL Development Bundle now Available from BittWare

The OpenCL Development Bundle.

It’s new.

And it’s only available from BittWare.


BittWare joined the Altera Preferred Board Partner Program for OpenCL in May, and they have created the OpenCL Development Bundle for customers who want to take advantage of the benefits offered by using a Stratix V PCIe COTS board with Altera’s SDK for OpenCL.

Only certified boards are optimised for the most current Altera device architectures and design software. Altera works closely with selected partners to ensure that their certified boards continually meet these standards. BittWare’s S5-PCIe-HQ board has been certified by Altera to support the OpenCL SDK, and is available as part of the Development Bundle.

Included in the Development Bundle (BUN-OPENCL-001)-
  • BittWare S5-PCIe-HQ Altera Stratix V GSMD5 or GSMD8 half-length PCIe board with two banks of 4GByte DDR3 SDRAM.
  • S5PH-Q Board Support Package.
  • BittWare BittWorks II Toolkit application development software for BittWare COTS boards.
  • BittWare Breakout Board (BWBO) providing front panel access to signals and interfaces on the S5PH-Q.
  • Altera Quartus® II software.
  • Altera Software Development Kit (SDK) for OpenCL.
  • Altera USB Byte Blaster to download configuration or program data into the Stratix V.

For more information about pricing, availability or technical support please give us a call on +44 1672 511166, or email us - info@sarsen.net.

What is OpenCL?
The OpenCL (Open Computing Language) standard is the first royalty-free, open standard framework that enables users to write programs that execute across heterogeneous systems including CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and FPGAs. It allows the use of a C-based language for developing code across these different platforms.

Thursday 9 May 2013

The Big Sarsen Question - Why Are Our Processes So Important?

Process. The death knell of creativity and spontaneity. 


Or is it?

It’s easy to balk against the idea of following processes, because frankly, some processes can be a pain in the neck.
Some processes command that you go through several steps to achieve a result. Some can be repetitive or time-consuming. Some don’t allow you to deal with a particular situation as quickly as you possibly can, or in the best interests of your customer.

In all these cases there is a temptation to act ‘outside the box’, to simply fix the problem in the easiest way possible. But process doesn’t need to be inflexible— changes can occur in what the customer wants or needs, in new tools being integrated, such as databases or reporting facilities, or in what you are selling and how you want to sell it.


However, processes are hugely important to the smooth running of any business. Without them our day to day tasks would be chaotic. And although one part of a process may seem like a waste of time to you, that little part may be of huge importance to someone else further down the line.

There are a huge number of benefits to having a good set of procedures -
  • Processes save time – by developing a certain amount of repetitive elements you tend to remember the routine.
  • Processes reduce errors – by allowing you to consistently improve small packets of work, or even automating parts of it.
  • Processes make it easy to hand off work to others – by creating a roadmap and instructions for others to follow. The task may need to be performed by different people at different times, and unless the individual steps are documented, there is every chance that Jo will perform the task differently to Jim, who in turn will do it differently from you. It can also encourage teamwork, by allowing your colleagues to help you if you're busy.

So I guess the answer to the question is simple.

Processes here at Sarsen are super important, because they are the link between what we do and how we do it. And we want to do it well.
Our processes mean our customers know they can expect the same level of service and support from every single member of our team. They help us to standardise our day to day operation as much as possible, improve our services, and achieve greater understanding and co-operation amongst our staff.

But who doesn't want to bend the rules once in a while....

Friday 3 May 2013

Trenton Systems unveils their new website....

Our good friends at Trenton Systems have had a facelift.

Or at least their website has!

With some sexy graphics and an easy to use menu it offers a wealth of information about their capabilities and technologies.

There are application stories, a long list of advantages, social media links, and datasheets, manuals and diagrams galore. Plus a heap of information about the industries and applications Trenton support.


Established in 1977, Trenton Systems design and manufacture board level products and integrated computer systems which address the critical needs of industries such as government and defense, test and measurement, industrial automation, GPU computing, medical, video display walls, communications, video processing and energy.

They offer an industry leading 5 year warranty on all of their PICMG 1.3 single board computers, backplanes and embedded motherboards, and all Trenton board-level and system products are designed and built within their ISO 9001:2008 registered facilities located in the U.S.



For more information on any of the Trenton products please contact our super helpful sales team, on +44 1672 511166, or drop them an email - sales@sarsen.net .

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday 1 May 2013

We Want To Hear From You!!

Here at Sarsen Technology, we know that customer satisfaction is essential to the survival of our business.

We work hard to keep our customers happy, but it’s not always easy to measure how satisfied they actually are. Is no feedback good feedback?

So we have come to a profound conclusion: The best way to find out whether your customers are satisfied is…. to ask them!


There is a school of thought that you only need to ask a single question in a customer satisfaction survey - "Will you buy from us again?" Keeping the customer satisfaction survey as short as possible is important, but will that single question really give us enough information to improve our service, or make changes to improve the customer experience?

Marks out of 10?

Buying from Sarsen will bring you into contact with a number of people and departments, from the initial enquiry right through to payment and after-sales support. It’s really important that our customers are happy at every step, and to achieve this we need your help….


It’s a short questionnaire, if you could take 2 minutes to fill it out it would help us not only improve our service, but our product offering, technical support, and yes, even pricing!

Your feedback is very much appreciated!