Today we continue our tour of Tokyo hacker spaces and places with a trip to Akihabara Electric Town. Akihabara is a winding maze with electronic components, test tools, (retro) video games, comic books, and more. The pictures will go up today, but the monkeys are still in the editing room working on the video. The […]
Category Archives: components
Coming tomorrow: Tokyo Akihibara Electric Town tour
Tomorrow we’ll continue our tour of Tokyo hacker spaces and places with a trip to Akihibara Electric Town. Akihabara is a winding maze with electronic components, test tools, (retro) video games, comic books, and more. We shot some video of the tour. So much that the batteries died on the high-def camera and we finished […]
NXP Cortex-M0 microcontrollers in TSSOP and SO packages
NXP Semiconductors announced a new 32bit Cortex M0 microcontroller in low-pin-count packages. SOIC, TSSOP, and DIP versions are currently available for their LPC111x devices. With Microchip also planing to release their PIC32 devices in similar packages, hobbyists will now have a choice of 32bit uCs in DIY friendly packages. Via the forum.
HanRun RJ45 ethernet connector for the Web Platform
The HanRun HR911105A RJ45 ethernet connector used by the Web Platform and Linux development board is cheap in China, but hard to find at your local distributor. Nexus found them at ITead for $3 a piece. Via the contact form.
Reddit’s nicechips community
Kelvin wrote to us about the new “nicechips” community available at Reddit. They collect links to data sheets of components they find interesting. Via the contact form.
Christmas lights with a MCU in each bulb
Having been disappointed by the generic offering of Christmas lights with small customization options, he decided to make fully customizable light decoration. Small PIC12F609 MCUs along with RGB LEDs are placed on a board and daisy chained over a 3 wire cable. A master MCU is placed on one end of the cable and […]
Component organizer program
msr writes: I would like to share with you a small program that helps to organize datasheets and application notes (plus source code). It’s not open source because the code is not something I’m proud of (it was my first experience with C# and so it’s a completely mess :). However, I hope it could […]
Let the sparks fly with flyback transformers
Flyback transformers are used to drive the large odd shaped coils surround the neck of CRTs in TVs and computer monitors. They operate in the 15 to 150 kHz range, and can be used to generate high voltages! Uzzors2k decided to experiment with generating voltages high enough to produce arcs, driving the the transformers with […]
Precision analog microcontroller, 12-bit analog I/O, ARM7TDMI MCU
dps writes: Check out the ADuC702x series from Analog Devices. I’ve used them before, and they work well (but note the errata when you start using the A/D, as there is a “gotcha” in starting the conversion). They’re based on the ARM7TDMI processor and have several sleep modes for decreased power consumption. Via the forum.
1988 TTL logic data book
Daniel Brake writes: I don’t know if you guys have seen this yet, but TI has their 1988 TTL Logic Data Book for only $0.10. I have received 3 copies and the total cost, including shipping (US), was only $0.30! TI describes this book as: Texas Instruments presents pertinent technical information on their broad line […]
Voltage booster from discrete components
This is a simple voltage booster based on discrete components: The circuit is excellent and works down to 0.6V. It requires about 0.9V to start. I’ve got efficiencies of 80% using high gain transistors. Thanks Rohit! Via the forum.
RS-485 and Arduino
As seen in the above illustration from National Instruments, RS-485 ports are identical in appearance to RS-232 but with different pin assignments. You will not find them on contemporary home computer hardware, and they are only rarely seen on legacy machines. They are, however, found on various types of commercial computer and telecom equipment and […]
App note: using Microchip serial RTCC
Microchip has released an application note outlining usage of their serial RTCC devices. Many embedded systems require some form of accurate timekeeping. There are a growing number of applications that require an external Real-Time Clock/ Calendar (RTCC) and higher integration of external peripheral components into the RTCC. In order to achieve a highly robust and […]
Microchip releases AR1100 USB touchscreen controller
Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, has announced the release of the mTouch™ AR1100 Analog Resistive USB Touch-Screen Controller. Building upon the AR1000 Analog Resistive Touch-Screen Controller series, the AR1100 controller is a high-performance, USB plug-and-play device that offers advanced calibration capabilities as a USB mouse or single-input digitizer. […]
Simple Sunday circuit: variable voltage regulator
From time to time we’ll be posting shortcuts and hacks we use around the workshop that make a task easier and less expensive. Here’s one example: a variable voltage regulator. We wanted to adjust the output from a 12 Volt solar cell to power projects needing lower voltages. The solution: construct a variable voltage regulator […]
Engineering Radio from Digikey
Earlier this year, Digikey began sponsoring Engineering Radio. It’s an online radio program/podcast hosted by Joe Desposito, Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Design magazine, and is dedicated to providing engineers with the latest news in the electronics industry. There are currently 23 online shows archived, with new content added weekly. You can access the online player for […]