1. Post #681
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts


    It was scary
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  2. Post #682
    Chryseus's Avatar
    February 2009
    1,818 Posts


    Vacuum tube power supply.

    http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/toroid...rmers/6718993/ Transformer I'm planning to use.
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  3. Post #683
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    I'm currently in the process of creating a PCB for my tesla coil, instead of using stripboard.

    The schematic:


    The board so far:


    It's still WIP, all the traces that aren't manually routed will be autorouted.
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  4. Post #684
    Chryseus's Avatar
    February 2009
    1,818 Posts
    You need to work on that schematic, it's a mess
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  5. Post #685
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    Yeah, I shouldn't have squeezed everything together so tightly
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  6. Post #686
    yngndrw's Avatar
    March 2008
    869 Posts
    I'm currently in the process of creating a PCB for my tesla coil, instead of using stripboard.

    The schematic:


    The board so far:


    It's still WIP, all the traces that aren't manually routed will be autorouted.
    This post contains an awesome PDF about PCB layout technique for power components:
    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/563828-post89.html

    Here's an example of a PCB I designed following those guidelines:
    http://yngndrw.hostilezone.net/uploads/H-Bridge%202.png
    (The MOSFETs will mount underneath, which is why the capacitor goes over them - There are also some components which need changing, but it's the traces that I'm showing you.)

    The point is where possible, flood-fill to create huge low-resistance traces. Also don't forget to expand the traces as much as you reasonably can and use a Kelvin ground to the logic ground plane.
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  7. Post #687
    Gold Member
    VistaPOWA's Avatar
    October 2008
    8,375 Posts
    Apparently, the patent on the Commodore SID chips has just expired a few weeks ago.

    Cheap 8-bit goodness, here I come!
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  8. Post #688
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    This post contains an awesome PDF about PCB layout technique for power components:
    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/563828-post89.html

    Here's an example of a PCB I designed following those guidelines:
    http://yngndrw.hostilezone.net/uploads/H-Bridge%202.png
    (The MOSFETs will mount underneath, which is why the capacitor goes over them - There are also some components which need changing, but it's the traces that I'm showing you.)

    The point is where possible, flood-fill to create huge low-resistance traces. Also don't forget to expand the traces as much as you reasonably can and use a Kelvin ground to the logic ground plane.
    Could you please upload the PDF somewhere else? I have to register to access it
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  9. Post #689
    Gold Member
    ddrl46's Avatar
    October 2007
    3,526 Posts
    Apparently, the patent on the Commodore SID chips has just expired a few weeks ago.

    Cheap 8-bit goodness, here I come!
    Lets wait for the Chinese to start producing SIDs.
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  10. Post #690
    Slaaf van EternalFlamez.Ik wilde heel graag de laatste Indie Bundle, en ik kreeg deze kuttitel er gratis bij.
    Staneh's Avatar
    March 2010
    3,977 Posts
    I really want to get into electronics and embedded programming, but I have no idea, where can I start?
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  11. Post #691
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    I really want to get into electronics and embedded programming, but I have no idea, where can I start?
    It depends if you want a quick start and then work your way into more complicated stuff or directly go knee deep into the shit.

    For the first: buy an arduino

    For the latter: buy an AVR

    I suggest you get an arduino, it's a great platform for beginners to learn the basics without too much frustration
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  12. Post #692
    Slaaf van EternalFlamez.Ik wilde heel graag de laatste Indie Bundle, en ik kreeg deze kuttitel er gratis bij.
    Staneh's Avatar
    March 2010
    3,977 Posts
    Right, i'll check it out.

    Would something like this be good?
    http://www.adafruit.com/products/68
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  13. Post #693
    Gold Member
    ddrl46's Avatar
    October 2007
    3,526 Posts
    I suggest you get an arduino, it's a great platform for beginners to learn the basics without too much frustration
    Just don't any library to work out of the box after the 1.0 update .

    Edited:

    Right, i'll check it out.

    Would something like this be good?
    http://www.adafruit.com/products/68
    That kit may contain a prototyping board but the only useful components in it are 8 LEDs, 15 resistors, 2 pots and 1 CDS sensor, you might want to put together your own kit (and end up paying less).
    Tell us what you are looking into doing and we might be able to put together a kit that suits your needs.
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  14. Post #694
    Slaaf van EternalFlamez.Ik wilde heel graag de laatste Indie Bundle, en ik kreeg deze kuttitel er gratis bij.
    Staneh's Avatar
    March 2010
    3,977 Posts
    Well, I don't know, I just want to get basic knowledge of electronics and mess around with it, not sure what I want to do with it though.
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  15. Post #695
    Gold Member
    HiddenMyst's Avatar
    June 2006
    6,516 Posts
    I've been wanting to get an arduino for a long time now to turn this old matrix keyboard I ripped out of an old asian word processor into a working keyboard.
    Didn't end up getting the money for an arduino, but ordered a leostick instead just because it has enough pins necessary to make the keyboard work. Only downside is I still don't understand the way that arduino I/O works yet. But I'm sure I'll pick it up pretty quick once it arrives.

    Edited:

    Does anyone have experience making keyboards/keypads in this sort of way? I'd love for some sort of guidance with this project.
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  16. Post #696
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    Uh, the leostick costs about the same as a normal arduino does
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  17. Post #697
    Gold Member
    ddrl46's Avatar
    October 2007
    3,526 Posts
    Uh, the leosstick costs about the same as a normal arduino does
    Actually more.
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  18. Post #698
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    Oh, I guess it's price dropped as they dropped the FTDI.
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  19. Post #699
    Gold Member
    benjojo's Avatar
    January 2009
    2,378 Posts
    Oh, I guess it's price dropped as they dropped the FTDI.
    It's also more fun because you can emulate keyboards and mice.
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  20. Post #700
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    It's also more fun because you can emulate keyboards and mice.
    Yeah, I think the addition of the second AVR is a pretty cool idea
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  21. Post #701
    Gold Member
    HiddenMyst's Avatar
    June 2006
    6,516 Posts
    Uh, the leostick costs about the same as a normal arduino does
    Oh haha, didn't notice that. Oh well.
    It will still do the HID emulation I need.

    The ultimate idea (once I get the keyboard part sorted) is to make a casing for it (with the help of my 3d printer (once I get that)) and then have a Raspberry Pi inside too, so I can have a go anywhere computer that just needs to be plugged into a TV, but also doubles as a keyboard if I change the keyboard USB cable from the Pi to a regular PC.
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  22. Post #702
    yngndrw's Avatar
    March 2008
    869 Posts
    Could you please upload the PDF somewhere else? I have to register to access it
    Here you go:
    http://yngndrw.hostilezone.net/uploa...0technique.pdf
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  23. Post #703
    Chryseus's Avatar
    February 2009
    1,818 Posts
    Found a much better replacement for the shitty java circuit simulator:



    + Supports proper components models
    + Looks better imo
    + Much more accurate and stable simulation
    + Easier to use
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  24. Post #704
    LoneWolf_Recon's Avatar
    May 2011
    718 Posts
    Looks more organized and easier to understand than most of the free SPICE simulators I've used.
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  25. Post #705
    bomp
    No_Excuses's Avatar
    March 2012
    972 Posts
    So you can intersect two wires without manually breaking them and making a node? Cause that would be wonderful.

    I love that Java app mainly because of the real-time aspect. Like sweeping resistor values and watching the output. That's handy and time saving. Besides that, my go to simulator is CircuitMaker 2000. Made in 2000. I really like it.
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  26. Post #706
    Chryseus's Avatar
    February 2009
    1,818 Posts
    So you can intersect two wires without manually breaking them and making a node? Cause that would be wonderful.

    I love that Java app mainly because of the real-time aspect. Like sweeping resistor values and watching the output. That's handy and time saving. Besides that, my go to simulator is CircuitMaker 2000. Made in 2000. I really like it.
    Yes you can intersect two or more wires without problem.
    Also it is real time animated so you can watch the voltage and current flow, it also shows the charge on capacitors.
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  27. Post #707
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts


    That 2€ LCD from ebay is good value
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  28. Post #708
    scizorownage's Avatar
    July 2009
    61 Posts
    Set up my sprinkler system to be web controlled with an Arduino and Relay board.
    The Arduino calls up to my webpage every ten seconds or so and the web page tells it which sprinklers to turn on. If it doesn't get a reply for 5 cycles then it turns off all sprinklers until it gets a connection again. It's been working beautifully this past week.




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  29. Post #709
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts


    That's the high power H-Bridge für my tesla coil. Any opinions?

    Edited:

    (ground plane and power connection will be added later)
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  30. Post #710
    I survived Camp FP 2010
    metallics's Avatar
    September 2005
    4,364 Posts


    That's the high power H-Bridge für my tesla coil. Any opinions?

    Edited:

    (ground plane and power connection will be added later)
    More a question than an opinion, how are you making it/having it made?

    I don't have the luxury of access to anything that can do double sided boards.

    Also purely for interests sake, is that EAGLE you're using there?
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  31. Post #711
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    Yeah, it's eagle.

    And I'm having them made here: http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.p...ex&cPath=19_20
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  32. Post #712
    Gold Member
    ddrl46's Avatar
    October 2007
    3,526 Posts


    That's the high power H-Bridge für my tesla coil. Any opinions?

    Edited:

    (ground plane and power connection will be added later)
    You might want to move your FETs apart a bit or you might have problems with the tabs shorting to eachother, and how are you going to heatsink the devices in the middle (assuming that's needed)?
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  33. Post #713
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts


    I rearranged stuff a bit

    Ddrl:
    I am putting insulating tape inbetween them
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  34. Post #714
    Gold Member
    Ragy's Avatar
    April 2009
    2,452 Posts
    My new analog multimeter kit came in today, can't wait to put it together. The body looks quite nice and has a lot of nice features.

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  35. Post #715
    Slaaf van EternalFlamez.Ik wilde heel graag de laatste Indie Bundle, en ik kreeg deze kuttitel er gratis bij.
    Staneh's Avatar
    March 2010
    3,977 Posts
    Right, so I'm planning to buy an Arduino Uno, with cables, leds and a breadboard to start with, am I missing something to just start off with?
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  36. Post #716
    yngndrw's Avatar
    March 2008
    869 Posts


    I rearranged stuff a bit

    Ddrl:
    I am putting insulating tape inbetween them
    I don't know if this would work out cheaper:
    http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/fus...html?cPath=185

    Anyway, the right hand pads for the capacitors are very far away from the trace it is meant to be connected to.

    There are some thin traces which could be fattened up a bit.

    Don't forget that you can mount components on both sides. (But make sure that you can still access the pads for soldering when one side is loaded.)

    They could all still be closer and better places for a heatsink. (Do they need a heatsink ?) For example the capacitors will get in the way of the heatsink for the right-hand capacitors and as it stands you need 4 separate heatsinks, which it could be made to use 1 or 2 larger heatsinks.

    Don't forget to think about where the input / outputs will connect to.
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  37. Post #717
    supervoltage's Avatar
    November 2009
    602 Posts
    Yay, my dad is actually gonna order 2 BA1404 IC's :D

    Took some time for him to think about it though..
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  38. Post #718
    Gold Member
    ddrl46's Avatar
    October 2007
    3,526 Posts
    Right, so I'm planning to buy an Arduino Uno, with cables, leds and a breadboard to start with, am I missing something to just start off with?
    If you don't want to blow the leds up you might want to get some resistors (470 and 1k are nice values).
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  39. Post #719
    www.bff-hab.de
    Dennab
    February 2009
    7,832 Posts
    I don't know if this would work out cheaper:
    http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/fus...html?cPath=185

    Anyway, the right hand pads for the capacitors are very far away from the trace it is meant to be connected to.

    There are some thin traces which could be fattened up a bit.

    Don't forget that you can mount components on both sides. (But make sure that you can still access the pads for soldering when one side is loaded.)

    They could all still be closer and better places for a heatsink. (Do they need a heatsink ?) For example the capacitors will get in the way of the heatsink for the right-hand capacitors and as it stands you need 4 separate heatsinks, which it could be made to use 1 or 2 larger heatsinks.

    Don't forget to think about where the input / outputs will connect to.
    Thanks.

    The right hand doesn't matter as much, as that's where I will connect the primary coil of my tesla coil, which has wires that long enough to allow this kind of spacing.

    This is as comfortable as I feel with this manufacturer

    Well, the components have to be soldered from the bottom side, so there's no problem with access.

    Only the 2 top and 2 bottom TO220 ICs need a heatsink, the ones in the middle don't.
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  40. Post #720
    Gold Member
    VistaPOWA's Avatar
    October 2008
    8,375 Posts


    why
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