Author Archives: DP

More Energy monitoring – ATM90E26 Breakout

A Breakout board for the ATMEL E9026 Energy monitor from Whatnicklife: What is it? ATM90E26 breakout for AC energy monitoring. It allows development of code and applications conveniently. Why did you make it? I wanted to test various energy monitor ASIC’s. I have already made an ADE7763 Breakout, I wanted to try the ATM90E26 for comparison and […]

Arduino RFID login

Luke has published a new build: I wanted a simple way of quickly logging on to my computer without having to typing my password in and did not want to have no security either. There are various products on the market that would solve this problem from fingerprint readers to proximity dongles but i decided […]

Analysis, operation, and modification of a switchmode power supply (SMPS) for variable output voltage

Lindsay Wilson did a teardown/modification of a Chinese SMPS to allow an adjustable output voltage: I’m currently working on a product which uses a size 2430 “hobby” brushless motor and 25A electronic speed controller (ESC). In its “intended” use, the controller runs from two lithium-ion batteries with a total voltage of around 7.4V, but I […]

App note: CCD Fundamentals

ON Semiconductor’s Charge-Coupled Devices primer application note. Link here (PDF) Like many technologies, the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) started out as one kind of creature and wound up as something completely different. Invented in the late 1960’s by researchers at Bell Labs, it was initially conceived as a new type of computer memory circuit, and it […]

App note: Understanding data eye diagram methodology for analyzing high speed digital signals

Application note from ON Semiconductors about the Data eye diagram methodology to represent and analyze a high speed digital signal. Link here (PDF) The eye diagram allows key parameters of the electrical quality of the signal to be quickly visualized and determined. The data eye diagram is constructed from a digital waveform by folding the […]

App note: STM32 cross-series timer overview

STM32 timer overview application note (PDF!) from ST: The STM32 devices are built-in with various types of timers, with the following features for each: General-purpose timers are used in any application for output compare (timing and delay generation), one-pulse mode, input capture (for external signal frequency measurement), sensor interface (encoder, hall sensor)… Advanced timers: these […]

Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters

Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. This post was announced on Facebook, and on Monday we’ll send coupon codes to two random commenters. The coupon code usually go to Facebook ‘Other’ Messages Folder . More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three […]

Teardown, repair and experiments with the Anritsu 37347A 20GHz Vector Network Analyzer

Here’s another great video teardown from TheSignalPath: In this episode Shahriar repairs an Anritsu 37347A 20GHz Two-Port Network Analyzer. The unit does not boot up and as a result its internal state is unknown. The boot fault is traced to a bad RTC module which has a built-in integrated battery. A replacement unit is located […]

Developing smart sensor solutions

Ken Boak has published a new build, the MSP430i2041 bluetooth smart sensor board: One of our existing products at work, which I designed about 2 years ago, makes use of the STM32F373 microcontroller interfaced to an AD7767 24-bit sigma-delta ADC, to create a smart sensor. Whilst at the time of development, (Feb 2014) – this seemed to […]

Project Hathor, a 2KV ring launcher

Check out Krux’s 2kV ring launcher, Project Hathor.  He writes: Have you ever wanted to shoot disks of aluminium forty five feet into the air at the press up a button? Do you like experimenting with high energy physics, and learn about things such as impulse generators, charge circuits, Lorentz force, electromagnetic induction, and how to […]

MSP430 VFD clock – Manhattan style

Daniel has a nice write-up about building his Manhattan style VFD Clock based on the MSP430G2553 microcontroller and the MAX6921: I know that and IV-18 based clock isn’t anything original. In fact, Adafruit used to sell a kit for this exact purpose. I don’t really care that it’s not original, because all vacuum tubes are […]