MickM tipped us to a treasure trove of infrared remote control info at JP1 Remotes.
Author Archives: Ian
App note: Simple circuit limits amplifier output
rsdio writes: This is a strange one. It claims to prevent clipping, but still appears to introduce distortion. Perhaps the idea is that soft clipping is preferred to hard clipping? If there were a voltage-controlled gain input, then true peak limiting would be possible, but this seems to trade one form of distortion for another. […]
Free PCB Sunday: Oscilloscope v1
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 we’re giving away two […]
Auto switching, self powered, USB to RS485 using MCP2200
charudatt posted a self switching, self powered, USB to RS485 converter using the MCP2200 breakout board. Via the forum.
High-voltage transmit/receive switches
rsdio writes: These chips look highly flexible for interfacing between different voltage logic circuits MAX4936, MAX4937, MAX4938, MAX4939 Octal high-voltage transmit/receive switches Integrated T/R switches significantly reduce component count while reducing power Integrated solution reduces system component count, saving space and improving system reliability Consumes less system power, allowing design flexibility in ultra-portable applications Integrated […]
Facebook Wordbooker bug update
On Friday and Saturday posts weren’t pushed to Facebook. Problems cropped up after upgrades to the latest WordPress and Wordbooker plugin a few days ago. A Wordbooker reset helped a little yesterday, but then failed again. We’re back on the previous version of Wordbooker now and will monitor the Facebook page all day. We’re really […]
Free oscilloscope v1 PCB via Facebook comments (try again)
Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. The first few people who comment on this at Facebook get a free PCB. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. This week we’re giving away two Dangerous DSO PCBs. Dangerous DSO is a new logic analyzer/oscilloscope design we’ve been using […]
Web thermostat with Arduino
Boris made a web-based thermostat using Arduino. The project is designed to control an heating system in order to keep the temperature in a room above a certain value, which can be set from Internet or a Personal Computer by LAN, because ours is not a simple thermostat but a complex unit managed by Arduino, […]
App note: SMBus-programmable battery chargers
rsdio writes: SMBus is similar to I2C, and should therefore be easily connected to most PIC or AVR projects. Highly integrated, 850kHz/500kHz SMBus-programmable battery chargers: MAX17435/MAX17535, highly integrated SMBus™ battery chargers capable of operating at 850kHz and 500kHz, respectively. Unlike competitive solutions, MAX17435/MAX17436 allow the charge setting to be programmed via the SMBus interface, eliminating […]
Free oscilloscope v1 PCB via Facebook comments
Every Friday we give away some extra PCBs via Facebook. The first few people who comment on this at Facebook get a free PCB. More PCBs via Twitter on Tuesday and the blog every Sunday. This week we’re giving away two Dangerous DSO PCBs. Dangerous DSO is a new logic analyzer/oscilloscope design we’ve been using […]
Week in (p)review: May 13, 2011
Facebook free PCB Friday is on the way. Don’t forget to share your current project in the comments or the forum. This week we threw out our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a five-part series on a prototype open source oscilloscope: Part 1: There’s so much between 0 and 1 Part 2: Feed and […]
Dangerous DSO part 5: Testing and conclusions
It’s the last day of our week-long Dangerous DSO adventure. Yesterday we simulated the analog front-end and found a few changes to test. First, we’re going to increase the ADC buffer gain to 2. That should make vertical offset adjustment easier. Second, we’re going to try a more refined input range divider with a 900K […]
A little Atari 810 disk drive
Rossum has a new project out, a little Atari 810 disk drive: My first computer was an Atari 400. My first disk drive was the magnificent Atari 810. Overwhelmed by a recent wave of nostalgia from playing Zork for the first time in 30 years I have built a working model of an Atari 810 […]
Bus Blaster v2.1 (v2.6) free PCB build
Tanukifu successfully built a free Bus Blaster v2.1 PCB. It was uneventful build, except for a few bridges on the PCB. Be sure to inspect the Bus Blaster board if you’re building a free PCB. There have been a lot of bridge issues, we probably messed up the fill or gerber settings. v2.1 is actually […]
Dangerous DSO part 4: Over simulated
Yesterday we covered the Dangerous DSO analog front end. This circuit divides our +/-10volt input to +/-0.5volts, and re-centers it between the 2volt and 3volt range the ADC can measure. Today we’ll simulate the circuit to get a better feel for how it works. Dangerous DSO is a new logic analyzer/oscilloscope design we’ve been using […]
Dangerous DSO part 3: Messing with the front-end
Yesterday we looked at how the Dangerous DSO analog to digital converter works, and it turns out to be a pain in the butt. It only measures a 1volt (1Vp-p) range between 2volts and 3volts. That’s not a very useful range for an oscilloscope, so we need an analog front-end that transforms the input signal […]
New Saleae 16bit logic analyzer released
A new 16 channel version of the Saleae Logic is out. In addition to double the channels of the Saleae 8bit analyzer, the new version supports capture up to 100MHz (2 channels only) and has better buffering. We really like the Saleae 8bit analyzer and use it in the lab. The Saleae is a streaming […]
PIC LCD backpack release package v1a
A source archive and user package is now available for the PIC LCD Backpack. Several of these have been assembled on free PCBs, and we initiated a small batch of assembled boards last week. Latest downloads (check me first) LCD Backpack PIC HD44780.source.r1121.v1a.zip LCD Backpack PIC HD44780.package.v1a.zip Over the last few weeks we did a […]
Free Oscilloscope PCB to RT #4 & 11 @dangerousproto
Every Tuesday we give away some extra PCBs via Twitter. This post was announced on twitter. The 4th and 11th person who retweet it get free PCBs. We changed the approach this week due to auto-retweeters grabbing boards first. Thanks for the heads-up on auto-retweeters JT! Love it, hate it? Let us know in the […]
Dangerous DSO part 2: Feed and water your ADC
Dangerous DSO is a new logic analyzer/oscilloscope design we’ve been using in the lab. This is not a finished project, it will not be produced. We’re posting our current progress to get some feedback. Look for a new Dangerous DSO article every day this week. Be sure to see Part1: There’s so much between 0 […]