Electronics Design

http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4458434/Inside-an-isolated-RS-485-transceiver?utm_content=buffer1c35d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Over the past decade, legislation has changed and now requires machinery and equipment operating in harsh environments to implement isolation for their data transmission systems. As a result, the trend away from legacy single-channel isolated systems to applications utilizing multi-channel isolation has led to the introduction of new isolation components. Many of these applications →

This article can be seen as continuation to my Powering microphones document and  PC microphone phantom powering improvements blog posting. Jon Blackstone said in comment: Tom – I’ve got a solution for this that’s very simple, and is working for me. I connect the ECM capsule (cheesy computer mic) directly to pins 2 and 3, →

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/this-spray-can-turn-any-surface-into-a-touch-screen/ This looks interesting. The technology, called Electrick, was developed by scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, with the findings published in an open access paper. The spray consists of an electrically conductive carbon-based material. By applying electrodes to the object, and then measuring the voltage at different points, the position of a person’s finger can →

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/design/a-circuit-that-sees-radiation-strikes-could-keep-errors-at-bay For a short time, it looked like the worlds electronics would be safe (well, safer) from radiation. With the switch from planar transistors to FinFETs, ICs suddenly became naturally resistant (literally) to having their bits flipped by a neutron splashing into them and blasting lose a small cloud of charge.  But two things are now →

https://blog.hackster.io/how-to-save-money-and-reduce-risk-developing-a-new-electronic-hardware-product-1d554c5bb762 Bringing a new electronic product to market is generally difficult, risky, and expensive. To succeed, and make it to eventual profitability, you need to focus your early efforts on minimizing risk and cost. This article gives tips if you plan to go to hardware business.  Here is another related article worth to read: Let’s →

Rane Sound System Interconnection note, originally written in 1985, continues to be a very useful reference. It’s popularity stems from the continual and perpetual difficulty of hooking up audio equipment without suffering through all sorts of bizarre noises, hums, buzzes, whistles, etc.– not to mention the extreme financial, physical and psychological price. Many things have improved →

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/transportation/advanced-cars/zincbased-batteries-can-provide-more-energy-safety-than-liion Rechargeable zinc-based batteries could not only store as much energy as lithium-ion batteries but also be safer, cheaper, smaller and lighter, new research finds. The results suggest zinc batteries could find use in mild hybrids (microhybrids), electric vehicles, electric bicycles, and eventually perhaps smartphones and power grid storage. The researchers are now aggressively testing these batteries and exploring scaling →

http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/invasion-of-the-hardware-snatchers-cloned-electronics-pollute-the-market Unlike counterfeit electronics of the past, modern clones are very sophisticated.  The counterfeiters make their own components, boards, and systems from scratch and then package them into superficially similar products. The clones may be less reliable than the genuine product, having never undergone rigorous testing. But they may also host unwanted or even malicious software, firmware, →

https://alastairreid.github.io/alastairreid.github.io/ARM-v8a-xml-release/ The companies that design processors all provide specifications of their products. These specifications are usually in the form of books or PDF documents.  It is then up to diligent engineers and academics around the world to read those documents and transcribe the relevant parts into computer languages such as C, C++, Verilog, O’Caml, Coq, →

http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4458294/Using-a-supercapacitor-for-power-management-and-energy-storage-with-a-small-solar-cell–Part-1 The environment has abundant energy but little power. Energy harvesting can tap the environment’s “infinite” source of energy, and avoids the cost of wiring to mains power or replacing of batteries. This article will look at using small solar cells.  Depending on the light level, whether indoors or out, small solar cells may deliver →