The Goals Sometimes you need to check one circuit and test some of its nodes. Usually a tester in voltage mode is a good solution, but it has a pair of problems. First, it measures about zero both when the node is driven at zero volts and when the node is floating (not driven at […]
I’ve been in the electronics and computing industries ever since I graduated with my BSc from Sheffield Hallam University in the UK back in 1980. Since that time, I’ve designed all sorts of weird and wonderful things (some of which even worked), including my fair share of printed circuit boards (PCBs). I’ve also been associated
The incredible story behind the Gerber PCB file format Continue Reading
Description The network analyzer shield uses an Analog Devices AD9851 DDS chip clocked at 180MHz which will output a sine wave at any frequency from 0Hz and 72MHz. The DDS output is filtered with a Butterworth LPF and then passed to a two transistor amplifier. The shield will output approximately 0dBm (maybe 1-2dBm if you
Learn how to make an LED matrix controlled by an Arduino. Scroll down further for step by step photos and more details. You’ll need the following parts: a prototyping board, (2) 8 pin headers, (8) 200 ohm resistors and (64) red LED bulbs. Arrange the LEDs in the board according to the design you’ve chosen: either
LED Blinking is a very common and almost first program for every embedded learner or beginner. In which we blink an LED with having some delay. So today we are here with the same project but here we will use an AC bulb instead of normal LED and will blink an AC bulb. Whenever we
Noise pollution has really started to gain importance due to high population density. A normal human ear could hear sound levels from 0dB to 140dB in which sound levels from 120dB to 140dB are considered to be noise. Loudness or sound levels are commonly measured in decibel(dB), we have some instruments which could measure the
Measure Sound/Noise Level in dB with Microphone and Arduino Continue Reading
Programming is always fun and Arduino is a wonderful platform if you are just getting started with Embedded programming. In this tutorial we will build our own calculator with Arduino. The values can be sent in through a keypad (4×4 keypad) and result can be viewed on a LCD screen (16×2 Dot-matrix). This calculator could
Summary Electrical accidents are rapidly increasing especially electric line repairs incident due to the lack of communication and coordination between the maintenance personnel and the electric substation staff. The password based circuit breaker device could just be the solution as only the lineman could reliably control the circuit breaker to avoid miscommunication. The system requires
Recently, I built an energy harvesting circuit based on an ultra low voltage DC/DC step up converter chip (LTC3108) from Linear Technology. With a 1:100 coil transformer (CoilCraft LPR6235), it converts the tiny voltage generated from Peltier thermo-electric generator into high enough level to drive small circuits. In the following video, I demonstrated that body heat is
When working with discrete JFETs, designers may need to accommodate a large variation in device parameters for a given transistor type. A square-law equation is usually used as an approximate model for the drain-current characteristic of the JFET: ID=β(VGS−VP)2, where ID is the drain current, VGS is the gate-to-source voltage, β is the transconductance parameter,
