Basics: Introduction to Zener Diodes
Zener diodes are a special type of semiconductor diode– devices that allow current to flow in one direction only –that also allow current to flow in the opposite direction, but only when exposed to...
View ArticleBasics: Power dissipation and electronic components
An ever-present challenge in electronic circuit design is selecting suitable components that not only perform their intended task but also will survive under foreseeable operating conditions. A big...
View ArticleBasics: Open Collector Outputs
One of the joys of working with basic digital electronics– and logic gate ICs in particular –is that it almost works like building with a set of Lego blocks: One output goes here, which connects to...
View ArticleBasics: Blink an LED with an AVR
Getting an AVR to blink might seem like an incredibly difficult task compared to the usual Arduino blink, but it really isn’t! In this post we will be uploading a basic blink example to an ATtiny2313....
View ArticleBasics: Picking Resistors for LEDs
So… you just want to light up an LED. What resistor should you use? Maybe you know the answer, or maybe everyone already assumes that you should know how to get to the answer. And in any case, it’s a...
View ArticleBasics: Up Close and Personal with Solder Paste
Solder paste is the glue that holds together modern consumer electronics, binding surface mount electronic components to circuit boards and providing electrical and thermal connections in the process....
View ArticleA round up of our “Basics” articles
Over the course of the past few years, we’ve been writing occasional “Basics” articles, about introductory topics in electronics and microcontrollers. In the spirit of making things easy to...
View ArticleBasics: Base Resistors on Transistors
Our reader Jon wrote in with a question about our open collector tutorial: I really appreciated the tutorial, and I was able to follow along and understand it very well. One question I had was – what...
View ArticleBasics: AVR Target Boards and Arduino Compatibility
Gary writes: I have fallen in love with your Diavolinos – thank you! My question: does the “Simple target board” allow for the 6-pin FTDI Friend hookup to upload sketches? This is quick and easy with...
View ArticleFrom the Mailbag: Understanding the Homopolar Motor
Wes wrote in to say: I am an Electrical Engineer (graduated May ’72, Texas Tech U), but I never saw or even heard of a homopolar motor until last week, when I saw an electric motor made from four...
View ArticleBasics: How Not to Solder
While there are a great many guides that teach you to solder (here is one fine example), we have found that there is a surprising lack of guides to help you with the opposite skill: How not to solder....
View ArticleTips and Tales from the Workshop
I’ve been meaning to post a review of Tips and Tales from the Workshop by our friend Gareth Branwyn, but every time I start, I get distracted by the book itself. I keep flipping through and learning...
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