A new way of switching the magnetic properties of a material using just a small applied voltage could signal the beginning of a new family of materials with a variety of switchable properties, according to a team of MIT-based researchers. The technique could let a small electrical signal change materials’ electrical, thermal, and optical characteristics. […]
Researchers use voltage to control magnetic memory Continue Reading
Active analog filters can be found in almost every electronic circuit. Audio systems use filters for frequency-band limit ing and equalization. Designers of communication systems use filters for tuning specific frequencies and eliminating others. To attenuate high-frequency signals, every data- acquisition system has either an anti-aliasing (low-pass) filter before the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or an
Designing active analog filters in minutes Continue Reading
It has been quite some time since my last post – as often happens, life intervenes and this time just a bit too much hospital time both for myself and one of my kids. Things are good now and normal can resume… LED Driver For years I have had this Black&Decker Firestorm FSL18 flashlight, but
PWM Based LED Driver Using Arduino Continue Reading
In a wireless design, two components are the critical interfaces between the antenna and the electronic circuits, the low-noise amplifier (LNA) and the power amplifier (PA). However, that is where their commonality ends. Although both have very simple functional block diagrams and roles in principle, they have very different challenges, priorities, and performance parameters. How
Understanding the Basics of Low-Noise and Power Amplifiers in Wireless Designs Continue Reading
I have recently acquired an Intel IoT Developer Kit as part of an Instructable Campaign. I am familiar with some embedded processing models and microcontroller environments such as the Arduino, but I found getting up and running with the Intel Edison to be a bit chaotic. I wanted to consolidate the information that I found
A Comprehensive Intel Edison Getting Started Guide Continue Reading
*Update (12/23)*: Just entered the “protected” competition- protect yourself from radiation and vote for me 🙂 Thanks Note: This is my very first Instructable! I will be very responsive to feedback on how to improve the project description below, so please let me know. In this tutorial, you will learn how to build a device
Networked Radiation Detector: Feel Cosmic Rays on your Fingertips Continue Reading
ESP8266 is an inexpensive serial-to-wifi tranceiver chip that allows to connect any microcontroller with a serial port to a WiFi network. Because of its simplicity and low cost, it is getting popular among hobbyists for building Internet of Things (IoT) applications. While there are varieties of breakout boards available for ESP8266 from the Chinese markets,
Breadboard adapter for ESP8266 module Continue Reading
Saelig Company, Inc. announces the availability of the new PicoScope 2000 series oscilloscopes, which are 80% smaller than their predecessors, similar in size to a passport but ¾” thick. Connected to a PCʼs USB port for power and communication, they offer bandwidths up to 200MHz, making them ideal for field use while offering the performance
NEW PicoScope 2000 series oscilloscopes Continue Reading
Twas a week before Christmas and all through the stores, gift buyers hunted for open-source goodies their makers and engineers would adore. The holiday season is in full swing and you may still have a few people to check off your gift-giving list. If you’re at a loss for what to buy the open-source-focused engineer
8 open-source holiday gifts Continue Reading
I bought some FT230X (FT230XS) USB-USART bridge chip recently for a new design. FT230X is not only cheaper than the traditional FT232RL, but also offers a new fancy “USB charger detection” function. This interests me because I’m quickly running out of desk space and power socket. I wish the new device to be solely powered by
FT230X charger detection investigation Continue Reading
