Posts tagged ‘Hardware’

A Better STM32F0 Prototyping Experience

This project started when I was particularly annoyed by existing development board options and cheap Chinese PCB prototyping services were starting to emerge. Thus, the path forward was clear, but let’s start with the problems I was trying to solve.

When I’m talking about ‘development boards’, I mean boards like the Teensy models, Feather variants or blue pill: a PCB based laid out around a microcontroller containing very little extra circuitry; a ‘least common denominator’ of typical projects using that MCU, if you will. Evaluation boards with more interesting circuitry are great to get used to a microcontroller and its peripherals but lie beyond the scope of this post.

Pb Power bank

In preparation for being off-grid for a few days, I quickly built this ‘power bank’ around a 12 V 7 Ah lead gel battery. The circuit is simply pushed onto the battery’s 6.3 mm contacts and provides 3 USB ports. Charging circuitry is not included but the battery terminals are still accessible anyway.

Quick and Dirty B–H Plots

While building solenoids, I needed a way to quickly judge the magnetic properties of some unknown steel. A simple analogue hall sensor IC works together with a controlled current source for the coil to drive a XY plotter (or oscilloscope in XY mode) and create simple B–H plots.

Philips PM 3265 Repair

This post was the first post of my first attempt at a blog (which was never published). Albeit I since re-wrote it completely, I decided to keep its original date, which consequently now predates the date this site went online.

I still like analogue scopes. Although the convenience of a digital scope’s features is hard to be matched, I still like to come back to the older world from time to time. Why? I have yet to meet a DSO which is as satisfying to operate as even a basic analogue scope. On a DSO, no matter the price point, you always notice there’s software handling your input, given the ever so slight lag. Not to mention the overall haptics; rotary encoders and rubber push buttons just don’t compare to the real deal.