King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

Chen Jianghe licked his chapped lips, his voice slightly hoarse but incredibly clear.

"Mr. Su, my name is Chen Jianghe."

"The ALE address latch enable signal and the DEN data enable signal of the 8086 chip have a timing logic conflict during the system POST phase, when the memory channel is initialized!"

"Such brief signal collisions can cause brief address latch errors and memory refresh disorder."

"Activate the third error indicator and the second refresh indicator simultaneously!"

"This is a compatibility issue between the address latch output level and the data buffer input level in a critical state!"

"This indicates a flaw in the logic gate design or the configuration of the filter capacitors!"

The echoes of Chen Jianghe's earth-shattering diagnosis reverberated in the stagnant air of the laboratory.

Several pairs of eyes were fixed on Chen Jianghe, filled with astonishment, confusion, and doubt...

A mix of emotions converged into a sense of astonishment and disbelief, as if watching someone go mad.

A worker in a circuit board workshop…

In a national key laboratory, facing a group of experts who haven't been able to find the key issues for months, how do you judge and unravel the mystery of core technologies?

The question is, how does he know all this?

Moreover, a long string of technical terms precisely points to the most basic hardware logic design!

After a brief moment of suffocation, a buzz of discussion instantly erupted!

The faces of the older engineers instantly turned bright red, their expressions of humiliation making them wish they could disappear into the ground.

Su Wanqing's eyes, as deep as a cold pool, suddenly contracted the moment she heard Chen Jianghe's assertion.

She stared intently at Chen Jianghe!

But the gaze was no longer that of a condescending, cold scrutiny…

It was not a feeling of astonishment, but an incredible focus!

I wish I could dissect him from the inside out and see what was going on!

"Impossible! Chen Jianghe! How could a worker in a circuit board workshop like you know these things?"

The man with the Beijing accent stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"How many books on logic gate design have you read?! A worker who hasn't even touched a digital circuit textbook! Do you even know what sequential logic is?!"

"You must have just gotten lucky by chance, guessing the right combination of indicator lights and then daring to spout nonsense..."

"Sun Yuanchao!"

Su Wanqing's voice wasn't loud, but those three words, spoken in a cold and hard tone, clearly pierced through Sun Yuanchao's roar.

Sun Yuanchao was speechless!

The rest of his words got stuck in his throat, his face turned a deep purplish-red, and he looked at Su Wanqing in disbelief.

Why would Engineer Su stop him?!

Could we really believe what this worker said?!

Su Wanqing paused, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the crowd, a mixture of surprise, uncertainty, and confusion...

Finally, the words returned to Chen Jianghe's face, one by one.

"Alright! Chen Jianghe! Draw out your speculations, all your evidence, and write it down!"

Chen Jianghe's heart skipped a beat!

Su Wanqing's cold command was exactly the opportunity he had been longing for!

"Yes, Engineer Su!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately grabbed a pencil from the table.

On a blank sheet of paper, use symbols, lines, and precise English annotations…

A clear diagram outlining the internal bus of the 8086 processor and its logical interaction with the external memory controller chip 8288…

Under the stunned, almost dumbfounded gazes of everyone present…

Lines representing data flow, address flow, and control lines rapidly extended across the paper…

Below the drawing, Chen Jianghe added three lines of text:

"The system should switch to the DEN signal being active on the rising edge of the ALE signal, and after it latches the current valid address."

"And simultaneously issue read/write commands with precise logical timing requirements."

"During this period, there is a very short [time window]."

Immediately afterwards, he wrote down a line of derivation process in the blank space next to the drawing:

[Analysis of Key Failure Points]

1. Observed phenomena:

Startup error - system crash/screen glitches.

The debug card briefly lit up with the third red light and the second green light.

2. Theoretical Support:

After ALE latches the address, the memory controller performs a refresh cycle, which requires ensuring bus stability.

DEN is active; data cable direction is confirmed.

3. Potential conflicts:

After ALE is enabled, if the latch output level setup time is too long, or the data buffer input voltage threshold is improperly set…

Within a nanosecond time window, this will cause bus state conflicts.

This can cause the memory controller to fail to recognize a valid REFRESH command, or result in a misread.

This triggers a double error flag.

4. Target Area:

The ALE signal buffer chain on the motherboard outputs to the address latch input.

The latch output is connected to the data buffer enable terminal.

Memory controller, related logic input pin paths!

5. Key Inspection Points:

Are the 0.1μF ceramic capacitors at the input of the relevant chips aged or poorly soldered?

Is the routing path too long, causing delays?

Chen Jianghe drew a large circle on the drawing.

Several key chips in the diagram are circled, along with the logical connection points of the signal paths between them.

Each label uses English abbreviations.

The entire narration and drawing process took less than five minutes.

Concise and to the point, packed with useful information!

It directly addresses the core conflict at the hardware logic design level!

Everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around.

His expression shifted from initial disbelief to skepticism.

Then, when you see Chen Jianghe accurately marking out the chip models and logic points…

It turned into utter shock!

An elderly engineer, behind thick glasses, radiated an unusual brilliance.

His lips moved a few times, but he didn't speak.

Sun Yuanchao craned his neck, glancing at the graffiti that resembled cryptic writing, and the derivations interspersed with technical jargon…

His face was filled with barely concealed embarrassment, bewilderment, and the shame and annoyance of being challenged.

Su Wanqing's eyes were fixed on Chen Jianghe's blueprints.

My fingers tapped lightly on the table unconsciously.

When Chen Jianghe finally pointed out the key chip area and the suspected capacitor point…

The light in her eyes instantly transformed into unwavering resolve.

"Snapped!"

Her finger landed on the circle on the drawing again.

"Engineer Li! Engineer Wang! Demolish immediately! Within the area he designated!"

"Focus on checking the physical connection and bypass capacitors of the link from the latch output to the buffer enable terminal!"

"Especially that 0.1 microfarad decoupling capacitor in the C17 and C19 area!"

After speaking, she looked up at Chen Jianghe, "Voltage threshold conflict...excessive trace length causing delay..."

"Chen Jianghe, where did you deduce these underlying logical details?"

Chen Jianghe gripped his pencil tightly, meeting Su Wanqing's gaze.

"The 8086 datasheet contains the chip's timing parameters and voltage standards."

"But the identification of the points of conflict... is the inevitable result of observation and logical deduction."

Chen Jianghe paused for a moment, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Just like when I was sent to the countryside to herd sheep, I had to count sheep every day..."

"If one sheep is missing, either the east wall has collapsed or the water and grass on the west side has broken its chain."