Henrik Forstén writes: I have been using the OSH Park’s 4 layer process a lot on my own projects. It has FR408 substrate that has better controlled permittivity and lower losses than ordinary FR-4 that other low cost PCB manufacturers use. In my opinion currently it is the best low cost process for making RF PCBs. […]
Author Archives: DP
#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs
Every Tuesday we give away two coupons for the free PCB drawer via Twitter. This post was announced on Twitter, and in 24 hours we’ll send coupon codes to two random retweeters. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a every week: Hate Twitter and Facebook? Free PCB Sunday is the classic PCB giveaway. Catch […]
Amiga 500 power supply build
A how-to on building an Amiga 500 power supply from Inkoo Vintage Computing: The power supply of my Amiga 500 is a bit unreliable. I’ve had some issues with the machine where the PSU could be the culprit, so I thought that it would be better to get a new power supply. There are used Amiga 500 power […]
Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service. This week two random commenters will […]
App note: Aluminum electrolytic capacitors design for long operational life
App note from KEMET on long life electrolytic capacitors. Link here (PDF) The service life for high quality power supplies and automotive power electronics is often limited by electrolytic capacitors’ operational life (Lop). Very long life (> 20 years at temperature up to 75C) is possible to be achieved by choosing capacitors with optimized design. […]
App note: Comparison of ceramic and tantalum capacitors
App note from KEMET about the replaceability between ceramic and tantalum capacitors to each other. Link here (PDF) Ceramic capacitors have a multitude of dielectric types available and each of these types is characterized by their sensitivities to temparature, but not to voltage or time. This paper compares the X7R, X6S, or X5R dielectric […]
Video tutorials: Building the Arduino based data loggers
From the comments on our Arduino data logger post: A visiting researcher dropped by our humble basement workshop with questions about the physical skill level students would need if they added one of our DIY data loggers to their environmental curriculum. I figured the easiest way to cover that was to simply build one, while they […]
STM32F103 vs GD32F103 round 4: SPI master
Sjaak writes, “This is part 4 in the series where we compare the STM32F103 with its Chinese counterpart the GD32F103. Both are ARM Cortex M3 microcontrollers which are mostly pin, peripheral and register compatible. Now we compare the SPI master peripheral of both chips.” More details at smdprutser.nl. Check out the video after the break.
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 […]
Building a GBA LiPo voltage regulator and charger
Alex published a new build: I saw a post where someone fitted a 2000mAh LiPo battery to their GBA, they had do to some modifications to the GBA battery compartment to fit it all. By using a LiPo battery instead of the AA’s, it would save us about 20 grams, while not a lot, ever […]
A software only solution to the vexing Beagle Bone Black PHY issue
Josh Levine has a nice write-up about a software only workaround for the Beagle Bone Black PHY issue: Sometimes the Ethernet port on a Beagle Bone Black does not work on power up. It takes either a physical reset button press or a power cycle to fix it. This problem affects all BBB’s and until […]
Tutorial: Setting up a low cost QRP (FT8, JT9, WSPR etc) monitoring station with an RTL-SDR v3 and Raspberry pi 3
A detailed tutorial on how to set up a cheap QRP monitoring station using an RTL-SDR V3 and a Raspberry Pi 3 from rtl-sdr.com This tutorial is inspired by dg0opk’s videos and blog post on monitoring QRP with single board computers. We’ll show you how to set up a super cheap QRP monitoring station using an […]
RobotX is open source
James Bruton writes, “I’ve decided to open-source RobotX so anyone can have a go. I also made some extra foot sensors for the robot in the video below. You can get the CAD and code from my Github.” See the full post on XRobots blog. Check out the video after break.
Sega System 16 security reverse engineering
Reverse engineering of Sega’s System 16 Hitachi FD1089 cpu security module by Eduardo Cruz: I’m glad to announce the successful reverse engineering of Sega’s System 16 cpu security modules. This development will enable collectors worldwide preserving hardware unmodified, and stop the general discarding of Hitachi FD modules. The project is right now involving external testers so […]
#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs
Every Tuesday we give away two coupons for the free PCB drawer via Twitter. This post was announced on Twitter, and in 24 hours we’ll send coupon codes to two random retweeters. Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times a every week: Hate Twitter and Facebook? Free PCB Sunday is the classic PCB giveaway. Catch […]
Neopixel clock, v2
David Zweben published a project writeup showing how he built a Neopixel clock powered by an Arduino Pro Mini clone and a real time clock module: After building my first Neopixel Clock, I decided I needed one for myself. There was no way I was going to solder 90 lengths of wire onto 180 tiny […]
Game of Life on a Raspberry Pi (and a LED board) in Haskell
Trandi published a Game of Life on a Raspberry Pi in Haskell project, that is available on Github: This is a quick post about, re-purposing my Raspberry Pi + Peggy2 art installation, which already re-purposes a 8-9 years old Peggy2 LED board, to play Conway’s Game of Life. Trandi’s Peggy2 board has been through several lives […]
Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service. This week two random commenters will […]
App note: Trends in integrated circuits that affect ESD protection requirements
A quick lookup on the ESD protection evolution of ICs in this app note from ON Semiconductor. Link here (PDF) The stunning progress in integrated circuit capability over the last 40 years is most succinctly expressed by Moore’s Law; “Every 2 years the number of transistors that can be economically manufactured in an integrated circuit […]
App note: Circuit configuration options for TVS diodes
Different TVS configuration usage app note from ON Semiconductor. Link here (PDF) Transient Voltage Suppression (TVS) protection is important because EMI and ESD can disturb the operation of the system, produce permanent damage or cause latent damage that will eventually cause a failure. Avalanche TVS diodes and diode arrays are available in a number of […]