Free Stuff - September 2023

The September recipient for the Great Scott Gadgets Free Stuff Program is Erik. Erik is an Ojibwe filmmaker and artist. He has only had his amateur radio license for a short while but he is already assisting in running community demonstrations on how amateur radio can help in emergency situations. We are sending Erik a HackRF One so he can build a mobile training station and take his emergency preparedness demonstrations on the road to Native communities. As an avid camper and road tripper, Erik is also excited to eventually take his demonstrations into wilderness settings and rural communities. We...

App note: How Silicon Carbide power schottky diode properties provide enhanced application capabilities

Great read from Bourns’ white paper about the new SiC Schottky diode which revolutionize power handling capability and other benefits compared to Silicon diodes. Link here (PDF)

For diode applications, the ideal component would be one with no voltage drop during forward conduction and no leakage current when reverse biased. It would change instantly from conducting forward current to blocking reverse voltage. Compared to junction silicon diodes, Schottky diodes provide reduced voltage drop with decreased reverse bias recovery current.
This paper discusses the properties of Schottky diodes constructed using a silicon carbide (SiC) n-epitaxial semiconductor material layer attached to a metal contact...

App note: Trimmers interfacing with surveillance system sensors

App note from Bourns about the robustness of trimmers used on surveillance system, typically sealed to protect agaisnt harsh environment. Link here (PDF)

Trimmer technology is designed for use in applications where the unit must be calibrated before it is shipped to a retailer, and eventually the end user. Typically, these pre-calibrated electronics use a trimmer for required adjustments to account for component variations over time. Medical and industrial designs frequently take advantage of the system calibration convenience of a trimmer. In surveillance systems, the trimmer is adjusted to obtain the best resolution of the sensors at an
installation point.

App note: Basics of linear fixed resistors

App note from Vishay going back to the fundamentals of humble fixed resistors. Link here (PDF)

In the shadow of microelectronics, passive components such as discrete resistors would seem to have fallen out of the field of view in electronics. Yet, it is the rare circuit that can do without resistors. And a look at a modern circuit board will show that it has become more difficult to locate them visually.

Improvements to Cynthion Hardware

Note: This is a crosspost of a Cynthion update on Crowd Supply: https://www.crowdsupply.com/great-scott-gadgets/cynthion/updates/improvements-to-cynthion-hardware

Since our last hardware design update in April, we have been hard at work refining the Cynthion design in preparation for production. Believe it or not, we’ve completed and tested six design revisions since r0.6 described in April!

In r0.7 we increased the maximum pass-through current by selecting FETs with lower resistance and by improving heat dissipation of the PCB layout. We added filters to the buttons, reducing the need for debouncing in firmware and gateware. We added a zero ohm series resistor to the oscillator so that it...

Новая жизнь старого GPS-приёмника

В этой статье я расскажу о том, как я использовал старый GPS-приемник в качестве приёмника для захвата "сырых" данных GPS. Также я постараюсь рассказать о базовых принципах приема и декодирования данных GPS.

App note: Nexperia load switch ICs

Nexperia’s app note on their load switches, combining multiple load switch functions in to one chip. Link here (PDF)

Nexperia load switch ICs are highly integrated Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs) designed to efficiently control power rails within electronic systems. Load switches serve as indispensable components for managing power distribution and enabling the smooth operation of various loads.

Thoughts on the unreleased Tangara audio player

A brief analysis of the Kicad source files. Surprisingly uses two 32-bit microcontrollers.

Эпичные подделки HC-06

Я расскажу об актуальной проблеме – а именно, наводнении контрафактом рынка Bluetooth-модулей.
Что, конечно присутствовало всегда, но только сейчас дошло до размаха, когда оригинальные модули HC сталичто угодно, но не BC417. дефицитом.
Так же, познакомлю вас со своим способом изучения китайских подделок, основанным на исследовании и сравнении кристаллов микросхем под металлографическим микроскопом. Готовьтесь лицезреть красоты микроэлектроники. :)
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Halloween Projects and Specials

It’s time for our annual reminder that we love Halloween! Our Halloween Project Archives is a great resource for inspiration and ideas.

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, and … we’ve organized dozens of our Halloween projects into categories: costumes, pumpkins, decor and food.