I built a very simple DIY solar-powered USB charger for my TP-link 10400mAh USB Power Bank. All I needed was a 6V/3.5W solar panel and the TD1410-based 5V buck converter module. I bought both of them on Aliexpress for less than $8. It was one of the easiest projects I built. All I needed to do was to connect […]
A very simple DIY solar-powered USB charger Continue Reading
Today’s smartphones utilize a wide array of accelerometers, gyroscopes and various other sensors in their designs. Relatively unknown is the barometric pressure sensor, which measures air pressure. These sensors are currently being integrated into premium-grade smartphones, but are also becoming more common in mainstream phones or wearables such as fitness trackers and Internet of Things
The accuracy of any circuit or system that uses a thermocouple to determine the temperature of a process is limited by the accuracy of the method used to perform cold-junction compensation. In a thermocouple measurement, two wires of dissimilar metal join together at the “hot,” or measurement, junction. The isothermal termination of the thermocouple wires
Circuit provides cold-junction compensation Continue Reading
Designers often use thermistors rather than other temperature sensors because thermistors offer high sensitivity, compactness, low cost, and small time constants. But most thermistors’ resistance-versus-temperature characteristics are highly nonlinear and need correction for applications that require a linear response. Using a thermistor as a sensor, the simple circuit in Figure 1 provides a time period
Temperature-to-period circuit provides linearization of thermistor response Continue Reading
I²C vs SPI Today, at the low end of the communication protocols, we find I²C (for ‘Inter-Integrated Circuit’, protocol) and SPI (for ‘Serial Peripheral Interface’). Both protocols are well-suited for communications between integrated circuits, for slow communication with on-board peripherals. At the roots of these two popular protocols we find two major companies – Philips
CO2 Monitoring is mandatory in many workplaces and it affects two of my clients directly in Barrel Halls where wine is stored and aged in temperature and environmentally controlled areas. The table below shows the affects of various concentrations in the air. 250-350ppm Normal background concentration in outdoor ambient air 350-1,000ppm Concentrations typical of occupied indoor
Infinite Noise TRNG (True Random Number Generator) For instructions for compiling the and using Infinite Noise TRNG driver, go to the software sub-directory, and read the README file there. Both Linux and Windows are supported. The Infinite Noise TRNG is a USB key hardware true random number generator. It uses what I call a “Modular
Infinite Noise True Random Number Generator Continue Reading
The main objective of this project is to show how to interface a uCAM-II serial camera to 4Duino. uCAM-II is a highly integrated micro serial camera which could be controlled by any host that requires a video camera or a JPEG compressed still camera for embedded imaging applications. uCAM-II processes various features making it trivial
Abstract: This article is how-to guide, intended as a quick learning aid for engineers considering using the MAX6954 to drive 14-segment monocolor LEDs. The MAX6954 is a versatile display driver, capable of controlling a mix of discrete, 7-segment, 14-segment, and 16-segment LED displays through a serial interface. This application note shows a typical application and configuration
Driving 14-segment displays with the MAX6954 Continue Reading
How about a cheap serial terminal for less than a fiver all-in? In a previous blog entry I’ve been working on more developments for the increasingly powerful home control system using an Arduino as a kind of universal I2c peripheral to the ESP8266. The reason for that is just the vast range of driver software
