App note: How to select the Triac, ACS, or ACST that fits your application

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Choosing the right AC switch for your application based on specification like current rating, voltage rating and triggering quadrant. Here’s an app note from STMicroelectronics to guide you on selecting the right part. Link here (PDF)

This document gives basic guidelines to select the AC switch device according to the targeted application requirements. These guidelines will allow the appropriate Triac, ACS or ACST to be selected, for most of the applications. Some very specific cases could require a higher level of expertise to ensure a reliable and efficient operation.

App note: A logic-level transient-voltage protected AC switch

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STMicroelectronics’ AC switch directly controlled by microcontroller. Link here (PDF)

Home appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators and dishwashers employ a lot of low power loads such as valves, door lock systems, dispensers or drain pumps. Since these loads are powered by the mains in ON / OFF mode, they were initially controlled by relays. Recently, relays have been replaced by triacs, due to their smaller size and lower driving energy. Nevertheless triacs don’t fulfill alone the new requirements that users now need and are used with others components.

Power switches must now be directly driven by a microcontroller unit (MCU) and must be robust to withstand the A.C. line transients so that systems may fall into line with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards. ACSs (for Alternating Current Switches) have been designed with this goal mind, i.e. to offer logic level and more robust semiconductor devices.

LibIt.ulp make creating packages more easier

Yahya Tawil over at Element14 writes, ” This ULP makes creating packages for libraries much easier. You can use it to draw multiple SMDs/PADs, lines and rectangles”

More details at Element14 blog.

Via the contact form.

Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters

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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 times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters”

The 1 bit = 6 dB rule of thumb, revisited

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Steven writes:

Almost ten years ago I wrote an entry about the “1 bit = 6 dB” rule of thumb. This rule states that for each bit you add to a signal, you add 6 dB of signal to noise ratio.
The first derivation I gave then was focused on the noise, where the noise maximal amplitude was proportional to the amplitude represented by the last bit of the (encoded) signal. Let’s now derive it from the most significant bit of the signal to its least significant.

More details at Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger blog.

#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs

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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 it every Sunday, right here on the blog
  • Tweet-a-PCB Tuesday. Follow us and get boards in 144 characters or less
  • Facebook PCB Friday. Free PCBs will be your friend for the weekend

Some stuff:

  • Yes, we’ll mail it anywhere in the world!
  • Check out how we mail PCBs worldwide video.
  • We’ll contact you via Twitter with a coupon code for the PCB drawer.
  • Limit one PCB per address per month please.
  • Like everything else on this site, PCBs are offered without warranty.

We try to stagger free PCB posts so every time zone has a chance to participate, but the best way to see it first is to subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB

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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 get a coupon code for the free PCB drawer tomorrow morning. Pick your own PCB. You get unlimited free PCBs now – finish one and we’ll send you another! Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB”

App note: Low-power battery temperature monitoring

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Low current consumption temperature battery monitoring TMP303 from Texas Instruments. Link here (PDF)

Charging a battery cannot be independent of temperature. In fact, most batteries specify a range of temperatures where charging is permitted. Charging outside these bounds risks damage, failure or worse. To prevent charging when the temperature is too hot or too cold, a temperature sensor and corresponding circuitry are required to disable the charging circuit accordingly. Some temperature sensors like TMP303 already incorporate this functionality. TMP303 monitors the local temperature and asserts its output when the temperature rises above or falls below factory-programmed trip points. This output signal is used to disable the charging circuit.

App note: Stopping reverse current flow in standard hot swap applications

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Application report from Texas Instruments about a simple circuit that blocks reverse currents. Link here (PDF)

The proposed circuit uses an inexpensive operational amplifier to sense the condition of the output voltage exceeding the input voltage, and subsequently disable the hot swap controller, stopping the flow of reverse current (current flow from the output (load) into the input (supply)). The device used for testing this method is the LM5069, configured to provide hot swap control of input voltages from 11V to 22V to a load capacitor of 220 µF. A schematic of the solution and results are provided.

Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters

BP

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 times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB coupon via Facebook to 2 random commenters”

GPS tracking with an MSP430F5510 over GPRS

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Bluehash over at 43oh.com writes:

I found a tiny gem while browsing Github for MSP430 projects. This one is a GPS tracker based on a MSP430F5510 with a GPRS cellular connection for reporting and command input. The GPS is a FGPMMOPA6H from GlobalTop and the GPRS module is a SIM900 from Simcom.
The Github link has details from code to schematics and board files.

More details at 43oh.com

The 2017 Hackaday Prize

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Hackaday just launched the 2017 Hackaday Prize, “Build Something That Matters”

Hackaday is calling for the curious, the creative, the determined. The Hackaday Prize is for creating for social change in order to transform the world. Using your hardware and programming knowledge on top of your scientific, design, and mechanical abilities, you will innovate to make an impact in peoples’ lives.

Prizes total over $250,000:

$120,000 goes to top 120 finalists ($1,000 each)
$50,000 Grand Prize
$30,000 Best Product Prize
$20,000 2nd Place
$15,000 3rd Place
$10,000 4th Place
$5,000 5th Place

It’s time to leverage your talent and find solutions to address a problem facing humanity today.

Full details and how to enter: Hackaday.io/prize

Check out the video after the break. Continue reading “The 2017 Hackaday Prize”

DIY programming adapters

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Sjaak writes:

Today came in a new batch of PCBs from DirtyPCB.com, of which one is a new revision of the BlackMagicProbe. This revision is almost the same except it has a polyfuse in its powersupply to the target, a dedicated voltage regulator instead of P-FET, its programming header on the 90 degree on the side and a jumper for entering DFU mode. All this goodness is contained in less 5×2 cm PCB space, so quite a bit of PCB estate is left for other purposes and I used panelizing in EAGLE to try another brainfart of mine.
In most DIY projects where pogo pins are used people solder them directly to a wire or pad on a PCB. Despite it looks like it is the way to go, it isn’t. Pogo pins tend to wear out relative quickly as they are only rated for a couple of hundred ‘compressions’, also solder can sip into the pin and ruin its spring.

More details at smdprutser.nl.

#FreePCB via Twitter to 2 random RTs

IRToy-600x369

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 it every Sunday, right here on the blog
  • Tweet-a-PCB Tuesday. Follow us and get boards in 144 characters or less
  • Facebook PCB Friday. Free PCBs will be your friend for the weekend

Some stuff:

  • Yes, we’ll mail it anywhere in the world!
  • Check out how we mail PCBs worldwide video.
  • We’ll contact you via Twitter with a coupon code for the PCB drawer.
  • Limit one PCB per address per month please.
  • Like everything else on this site, PCBs are offered without warranty.

We try to stagger free PCB posts so every time zone has a chance to participate, but the best way to see it first is to subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

Practical RF filter design

Craig writes, “RF filter design is a piece of cake these days thanks to computer design and simulation tools. But actually realizing the simulated filter response in the real world can be a completely different matter! This video provides an introduction to practical RF filter design by building, testing, and tweaking a 137MHz bandpass filter suitable for NOAA APT satellite reception.”

More info at Analog Zoo homepage.

Inside the vintage 74181 ALU chip: how it works and why it’s so strange

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Ken Shirriff writes:

The 74181 ALU (arithmetic/logic unit) chip powered many of the minicomputers of the 1970s: it provided fast 4-bit arithmetic and logic functions, and could be combined to handle larger words, making it a key part of many CPUs. But if you look at the chip more closely, there are a few mysteries. It implements addition, subtraction, and the Boolean functions you’d expect, but why does it provide several bizarre functions such as “A plus (A and not B)”? And if you look at the circuit diagram (below), why does it look like a random pile of gates rather than being built from standard full adder circuits. In this article, I explain that the 74181’s set of functions isn’t arbitrary but has a logical explanation. And I show how the 74181 implements carry lookahead for high speed, resulting in its complex gate structure.

More details at Ken Shirriff’s blog.

Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB

BP-600x373

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 get a coupon code for the free PCB drawer tomorrow morning. Pick your own PCB. You get unlimited free PCBs now – finish one and we’ll send you another! Don’t forget there’s free PCBs three times every week:

Continue reading “Free PCB Sunday: Pick your PCB”

App note: Fast Rail-to-Rail operational amplifiers ease design constraints in low voltage high speed systems

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Migration to lower rail voltages considerations on operational amplifier designs an Application note from Analog Devices. Link here (PDF)

Movement towards lower power supply voltages is driven by the demand that systems consume less and less power coupled with the desire to reduce the number of power supply voltages in the system. Lowering power supply voltages and reducing the number of supplies has obvious advantages. One such advantage is to lower system power consumption. This has the additional benefit of saving space. Lowering overall power consumption has a residual benefit in that there may no longer be a need for cooling fans in the system.

However, as the traditional system power supply voltages of ±15 V and ±12 V give way to lower bipolar supplies of ±5 V and single supplies of +5 V and +3.3 V, it is necessary for circuit designers to understand that designing in this new environment is not simply a matter of finding components that are specified to operate at lower voltages. Not all design principles used in the past can be directly translated to a lower voltage environment.

Reducing the power supply voltage to a typical op amp has a number of effects. Obviously, the signal swings both at the input and output are reduced. The required headroom between signal and rail (typically 1 V to 2 V in conventional amplifiers), which is of lesser importance with power supplies of ±15 V, now drastically reduces the usable signal range. While this reduction does not normally increase noise levels in the system, signal-to noise ratios will be degraded. Because the designer can no longer use techniques such as increasing power supply voltages and signal swings in order to “swamp” noise levels, greater attention must be paid to noise levels in the system.

App note: Resolution enhancements of digital potentiometers with multiple devices

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An old application note from Analog Devices about configuring multiple digital potentiometers to improve resolution, accuracy and programming complexity might add-up to the mix though. Link here (PDF)

Digital potentiometers usually come with standard resistance values of 10k, 100k, and 1MW at a given number of adjustable steps. If an application requires a resistance range that falls between these values, users will most likely apply a part with a resistance larger than needed scarifying resolution. Fortunately, users can parallel, stack, or cascade multiple digital potentiometers to optimize the resolution for a given application. In this article, we will share some of the ideas that may solve the challenge.