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Post #1
! Thread is moving to the Maker Mates section !
Welcome to the Facepunch electronics thread, this thread is for anyone who has an interest in electronics, be it analog, digital or just blowing shit up in their free time.
If you have something you want to show or desire to get into electronics just make a post and someone will be along eventually.
chipset Electric water pump timer Vacuum fluorescent display Guide to interfacing microcontrollers with high power devices
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/59112523/how2ardweeno.png
MIPS Fancy rotary switch MIPS enjoys colorful wiring
Lapsus FPGA based VGA signal generator Game Controller
DrLuke Tesla coil drivers LCD
Ddrl46 Nixie Tube Variable power supply
Art of Electronics by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill
Without a doubt the most complete and informative book on electronics, although the
current 2nd edition is rather old (1989) it is still extremely relevant to modern electronics.
If you're going to buy any book this should be the one, although it is not designed for beginners.
Complete Digital Design by Mark Balch
An excellent book that covers all the basics such as boolean logic,
karnaugh maps, binary arithmetic and more advanced topics such as serial
communication, microprocessors and the practical design of digital circuits.
Principles of Electric Circuits by Thomas L. Floyd (9th ed)
A very good book for beginners that unlike most comes in an electron flow
version as well, if you prefer that. The book is full of well drawn diagrams and
helpful pictures which makes reading easy and fun, in addition at the end of each
chapter there is a quiz to make sure you fully understand what you have read.
Troubleshooting Analog Circuits by Robert A. Pease (Bob Pease)
An excellent book by an excellent author, this book contains a lot of useful
information that is invaluable if you are interested in getting into electronic
repair.
Power Electronics Handbook by Muhammad H. Rashid et al
A huge amount of information on power circuits and components
a must have if you're interested in power electronics.
Video Lectures
Basic Electronics, Prof T.S.Natarajan - NPTEL
Very well made lecture series with a lot of useful information, highly recommended.
Other Resources
Electronics Reference
List of various useful equations and other information.
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/
A very informative e-book that can be read online or downloaded, it explains things
very nicely and with plenty of pictures and diagrams so it is suitable for beginners.
I highly recommend although the book is not complete.
http://www.eevblog.com/
Excellent video blog all about electronics, definitely worth watching.
Also has an excellent forum suitable both for beginners and professionals.
http://www.williamson-labs.com/
Some useful images but the site design will make your eyes bleed.
http://www.repairfaq.org/
Interesting information related to electronics repair.
{Q} How much does it cost to get started with electronics ?
{A} Not much, depending on how far you want to go anywhere from £30 to £200
{Q} What is the best way to learn electronics ?
{A} Reading books is usually the best way, however if you can't stand reading there are plenty of alternative options, don't always assume what you're reading is correct however.
{Q} Where do I get an oscilloscope ?
{A} Ebay is the best place for picking up a low cost analog scope, avoid PC based scopes and mini scopes like the DSO Nano, alternatively you can get a brand new digital scope from about £200.
Bitsbox - Small selection of components but very cheap shipping, £1.50 UK, £2.75 Europe, £4.00 anywhere else.
RS - A well known supplier with large selection, shipping is fairly cheap but no Paypal.
Farnell - Another excellent supplier with a very large selection, minimum order applies and no Paypal.
DealExtreme - Sells a lot of made in china stuff but you can get some really good deals such as the Rigol DS1052E.
Rapid - Decent selection but not the cheapest, shipping outside the UK is also fairly expensive.
Maplin Electronics - Similar to rapid but even more expensive, not available outside the UK as far as I'm aware, avoid.
Digikey - Excellent selection of components but fairly expensive shipping.
Sure Electronics - Small selection but some good value for money component kits.
Sparkfun Electronics - Nice selection with some good deals, still quite expensive.
RSH Electronics - Small selection with some great bargain packs, cheap delivery £4.00 international
Tayda Electronics - Decent selection of cheap parts, direct from Thailand so expect some delay in delivery.
Ebay Sellers
http://stores.ebay.com/Thai-Shop-Etc - Cheap components
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tayda2009 - More cheap components
DealExtreme useful stuff list
Note: Prices may vary over time.
Connectors
5pc 9V wired battery connectors $1.50
20pc 2.1mm DC female power jack $4.40
10pc 250V 10A IEC mains socket $4.90
5 pair XLR connectors black and blue $11.60
As above but black and silver $10.00
10pc 80pin double row r-angle headers 2mm $11.60
10pc BNC male to female T-connectors $5.80
200pc 40pin headers 2mm $16.80
200pc 40pin headers 2.54mm $19.20
20pc screw terminal connectors 3 pin 5mm pitch $4.40
20pc banana plugs, red $4.90
20pc banana plugs, black $4.90
20pc banana terminal connector, red $8.50
20pc banana terminal connector, black $8.40
10pc USB-B female socket $2.30
BNC plug $1.80
Lights / Displays
100pc green 5mm leds $4.30
As above but in red $4.20
20pc pack 1w 90lm led bulb, comes in many different colours $6.80
100pc hexangular pcb for above leds $7.99
16x2 blue backlit lcd display $4.30
4 digit 12 pin 7 segment display $2.00
Tools
Fluke 17B, quite possibly the best value for money multimeter out there $100
Fluke TL10 test leads (classic style)! $13.10
3 set of tweezers - very handy $2.32
Solder wick (3mm x 1.5m), use with below for best results $2.76
Rosin, dissolve in IPA for excellent flux $1.81
Bottle for flux or other stuff $1.20
60W hot glue gun $11.50
Desoldering pump $3.09
Soldering iron tip cleaner $5.99
Rigol DS1052E 50MHz oscilloscope $345.60
150mm digital caliper
5 inch electrical cutter (wires, etc) $3.41
Heavy duty wire and cable cutter $7.60
Power Supplies
complete step-down dc-dc converter module $3.50
same as above but possibly better made $3.80
Integrated Circuits
3pc Atmel ATMEGA8-16PU microcontrollers $6.30
5pc PIC16F628A-I/P microcontrollers $8.60
Sensors
Gas sensor module $6.40
TCS3200D RGB color sensor module $8.70
IR motion detector module $3.50
HR-202 humidity sensor module $3.80
Light sensor module $2.20
Components
50pc trimmer potentiometer pack 100k $10
230pc 1W zener diodes 8.10
50pc crystal oscillators pack $5.80
210pc 50v ceramic capacitors, from 10p to 1u $5.70
400pc 1/4w metal film resistors, 1% $5.00
120pc electrolytic capacitor pack $4.80
5pc 13x2mm piezo buzzers 9V 9kHz $1.80
Electromechanical
5pc OMRON G5V-2 8pin signal relays (12V, 42mA) $10.00
5pc OMRON G5LA-14 5pin relays (12V, 30mA, contact 10A 250V) $7.70
5pc OMRON G5V-1 6pin signal relays (12V, 12.5mA) $8.00
5pc SIP-1A12 4pin reed relays (12v, ~14mA) $4.40
10pc 3pin rocker switch with red indicator light $8.30
5pc 4pin rocker switch with green indicator light $5.70
20pc 6pin latching push buttons $4.70
10pc push button with led indicator $4.90
100pc mini tact push buttons $5.80
5pc toggle switches $5.40
10pc 8 DIP switches $5.50
Misc
10pc single side copper clad board 10x7.3cm $6.90
2pc 560 hole breadboards with screw holes $8.50
1pc 6xAA battery holder $4.50
100pc 1A glass fuses $4.40
5pc panel mount fuse holders 10A 250V $6.30
DS1302 real time clock module with battery $3.60
0.1mm diameter enamelled wire 20m $1.60
10pc Soldering iron cleaning sponges $1.84
Working with electricity is generally quite safe, however here are a some useful tips that will help you avoid severe injury or in the worst case death.
Avoid working with mains electricity unless you are confident with what you're doing
Probe live circuits with your right hand and keep your left hand in your pocket
Keep your hands clean and dry
Do not wear any metal objects even around low voltage
Never go near high energy (3 phase) systems with a non-industry grade multimeter
Use a properly fused multimeter to avoid risk of explosion
Ensure high voltage capacitors are discharged before touching a circuit
Never make changes to household wiring unless you REALLY know what you're doing
NEVER EVER play around with microwave ovens they're potentially lethal
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Anyone know why the V2 Thread closed?
I does not have a closed message.
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I assume due to size "What are you working on" was also closed.
Besides I like the new thread smell.
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Threads are closed at the end of every month now, just saying.
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my first post in the electronics thread also was the last one of V2
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My first PCB layout, I'm quite pleased.
It's an AVR Dev board:
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I hope you have a drill stand
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I may get one if I can.
Otherwise I'll just make the pad bigger so it's easier to drill.
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-stupid question-
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Whats a boost converters current output based on? frequency or inductor size?
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Both
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I need some help with multiplexing. Right now i have about 20 LEDs that need to be controlled separately. I have acces to a Arduno Uno (14 i/o ports + 6 analog ports that should be able to act as outputs), but there also are 5 inputs needed. I need the best way of multiplexing. This is supposed to be a traffic light, so the least flickering possible. I also have a supply of various resistors, capacitors (100 µF), transistors (BC 547 B). VistaPOWA explained multiplexing to me before, kind of know how it supposed to work but can't figure out how to actually make it work yet.
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Well, if you only need to turn on and off your LEDs, a shift register is the easiest solution.
http://bildr.org/2011/02/74hc595/
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Can't really buy anything
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He has an Arduino, that's all.
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You could always look into charlieplexing the LEDs, though I don't know how you'd go about having all 6 traffic lights lit at the same time, switching between the 6 sets faster than the eye can see seems to be the most straightforward solution, and shouldn't be too hard. 20 charlieplexed LEDs should only take 5 pins, so that leaves you plenty of room for your inputs too.
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How would i expand this?
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You can get multiplexer ICs as samples from a number of places such as Ti or Maxim.
Alternatively you can use I2C or SPI IO expanders.
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There's a pattern there.
Notice the sets of LEDs:
1->2 2->1
2->3 3->2
1->3 3->1
Each pin connects to each other pin through two LEDs of opposite orientation in parallel.
So if you add a fourth pin, you would also add:
1->4 4->1
2->4 4->2
3->4 4->3
etc.
Then, you set all the pins to High-Z, except for the two that control the LED you want to light. If you set one HIGH and the other LOW, then one LED will light up. If you do the reverse, the other LED will light up.
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Got my logic analyzer today!
Code:byte counter = 0; void setup() { DDRD = B11111111; // set pins 0-7 as output noInterrupts(); // Stop gapping out }; void loop() { PORTD = counter++; };
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That's neat
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Pretty neat.
I assume it's a Bus Pirate, right?
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I will be getting the bus pirate with the sparkfun freeday code
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I just won a 50MHz dual-channel (working) oscilloscope for 10 bucks!
"Bid didn't reach minimal price, putting the item up for bidding again"
FUCK
Edited:
Guy told me that the minimal price is $150. Nope.
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Wait what? If he wants a minimum price of 150$ why doesn't he put it up with a starting bid of 150$ then?
Does ebay allow this? If not I would open a ticket and demand it.
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It's a common scam: selling something for a low prince and then wanting more money
Edited:
You should contact eBay anyway
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Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's not allowed to do that. It is a common scam, like Val67 said.
Edited:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/reserve-price.html
Yeah, fuck Ebay if they actually condone this sort of thing. That's just dishonest.Ebay.com posted:
Starting bids should always be the minimum amount a seller is willing to settle for. If it's not, then it has absolutely no meaning whatsoever, and it's a farce, not a proper auction.
At that point, there's no reason not to set your starting bid to $0.01 for every single item just to have it at the top of the list when sorted by price.
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I agree it makes bidding on things a waste of time, unless you like to bend over and pay the full price when they tell you it has a 'reserve' on it.
Any reserve should always be shown.
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Sue sue sue
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Not Found
HTTP Error 404. The requested resource is not found.
And whatever it is, hook it up yourself. You don't learn anything from using other people their "shields".
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Looks like the site crashed :(
It was a "Nuclear Event Detection Device", which tells you about the incoming radiation
Here's a new link
Edited:
Manufacturer link
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That's just a switch, shutting off when a huge amount of ionizing radiation goes through it (like, after a nuclear explosion). $150 for a piece, not re-usable.
That is no Geiger-Müller tube or Geiger-counter, it's a countermeasure against EMP.
Edited:
Why in hell would ANYONE make an Arduino shield out of that?
Edited:
Also, I think everyone would know in an instant if a nuclear bomb exploded somewhere.
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The point is to immediately cut the power to EMP-sensitive equipment before the EM-Pulse arrives at the equipment and destroys it. This is not meant to warn humans, although it can also be used for that.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but I though you also had to shield something to protect it from an EMP.
Also if a bomb did go off, I doubt you'd want to be sitting around playing with your still functioning equipment.
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I guess it's to disconnect devices from the power grid, as there could be a potentially destructive impulse coming through it.
Also, if a nuke explodes in low earth orbit, you'd create an EMP pulse that would affect big parts of the USA (yes, a single nuke), thus you wouldn't get any radioactive fallout or direct blastwave damage, but all electronic equipment would be of course destroyed if it's not shielded.
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My guess is it's to protect from the secondary effects. You'd still need to shield the thing to protect it from the initial surge of EM radiation, but my guess is that there will be a short delay before you get the full effect from long transmission/signal lines, since electrons in metal conductors don't propagate as fast as EM waves in free space.
So, such a device would probably be mounted outside the shielded area, get triggered upon the initial EMP, and cut the connections to any transmission/power lines before any electrical surges hit. Transmission lines, I think, are the real problem because they cover so much physical area. Small circuits which aren't interconnected might be able to survive the initial effects.
That's just my guess, though.
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According to Wikipedia the voltage from a nuclear detonation at an altitude of 400km will range from 25 to 50 kV per square meter over a very large area depending on bomb yield, altitude and your distance from detonation (your actually safer in terms of EMP closer to the detonation).
Assuming an area of 1sq cm this results in an induced voltage between 250 and 500V, more than enough to damage any sensitive electronics, so in order to completely protect something besides isolating it from the power line you'd also need to fully shield the device and provide full isolation (I.E optical) for any externally connected devices.
It's quite amazing at how much energy is produced in a nuclear explosion.
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Wouldn't a Faraday cage work well enough? Or would it have to be so thick to ground all the emp without any induced currents occurring inside the cage?
Funny x 1
Informative x 1
Agree x 1
Programming King x 3
Optimistic x 1
Disagree x 2
Friendly x 5
Dumb x 3