I'm looking for a logic circuit to convert 16-bit binary to 5-digit BCD, but one that is smaller / uses less gates than double dabble.
Are there any other binary-to-BCD conversion circuits besides double dabble?
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\$\begingroup\$ You can implement components similar to the 5-in, 5-out implementation 74X185, but with more bits/terminals. Looking a bit closer, you'll see double dabble again, closer still, gates, then switches. One obvious approach would be to describe the full bundle of 19 binary functions of 16 variables and have it "optimised" and realised/mapped by some tool chain. See Kuba Ober's answer for an essentially 2 level and/or(NAND/NAND) + register implementation. \$\endgroup\$– greybeardCommented Apr 5, 2023 at 19:21
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\$\begingroup\$ (16 bit to 5×7 segment signals may or may not be a more useful circuit - think integrated.) \$\endgroup\$– greybeardCommented Apr 5, 2023 at 19:29
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\$\begingroup\$ Jason, do you want to use the BCD for BCD-7-seg displays? If so, that's a very different question (in terms of optimizing, anyway.) Or do you need the BCD for something else? You can just lay out the 16-bit to BCD (the upper-most BCD digit only needs 3 bits, not 4) and feed it to an algorithm to minimize, if you want. Or you can start there and hand-optimize its output. (You can almost always do better for something of this complexity -- even for algorithms that claim to 'minimize'.) Just for reference only, here's the generic double-dabble approach. \$\endgroup\$– periblepsisCommented Apr 6, 2023 at 0:10
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\$\begingroup\$ For driving 7 segment displays. \$\endgroup\$– Jason CCommented Apr 6, 2023 at 1:33
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Double dabble doesn't use many gates... if you implement it in a serial fashion. I imagine the BCD output is for human interface/UI, so you wouldn't need those values very quickly anyway.
If this is for a discrete design, then a 256kbyte EEPROM, a counter that counts to 3, and three 8-bit latches would be the simplest, lowest-area solution, short of using a small MCU to do the math.
answered Apr 5, 2023 at 19:08
Kuba hasn't forgotten MonicaKuba hasn't forgotten Monica
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1\$\begingroup\$ (You'd use few gate less letting the counter count to four - Johnson for ease of glitch-free decoding.) \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 5, 2023 at 19:10
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\$\begingroup\$ I found a circuit here and got it working, thanks for the serial double dabble idea. forum.digikey.com/t/binary-to-bcd-converter-vhdl/12530 \$\endgroup\$– Jason CCommented Apr 6, 2023 at 19:21