The hottest Electronics Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

DACs and ADCs, or there and back again

lcamtuf’s thing • 1499 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Electronics Microcontrollers
  1. Digital circuits often require digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters to interface with the physical world.
  2. For digital-to-analog conversion, architectures like binary-weighted DACs and R-2R DACs are commonly used, but the latter addresses practical issues with resistor values.
  3. Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) can be complex, involving methods like flash ADCs and slope-based ADCs, which use principles like comparison, integration, and sigma-delta modulation for accurate voltage readings.

Resistors are out to get ya

lcamtuf’s thing • 2166 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
🔬 Science Electronics Components Circuits
  1. Some components in electronics, like resistors, may not behave exactly as expected especially at high frequencies.
  2. Parasitic impedance and capacitance in resistors can affect circuit performance, especially in applications like feedback loops for operational amplifiers.
  3. Using a two-stage amplifier can help mitigate issues caused by resistor parasitics and ensure better signal integrity.
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Energy in electronic circuits

lcamtuf’s thing • 1833 implied HN points • 16 Oct 23
🔬 Science Physics Electronics Energy Circuits
  1. Designing electronic circuits has become more stringent over the years due to advancements in technology.
  2. Understanding how energy travels through electronic circuits is crucial for circuit stability and efficiency.
  3. High-speed signals in electronic circuits can lead to significant energy expenditure and signal integrity issues.

MCU land, part 9: ST7789, the final frontier

lcamtuf’s thing • 1499 implied HN points • 09 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Microcontrollers Graphics Programming Electronics
  1. Driving a 2.8" 240x320 IPS panel with a Microchip SAM S70 Cortex-M7 MCU can be surprisingly simple.
  2. The steps to set up the ST7789 display controller involve minimal and straightforward commands like hardware reset and configuration for color mode.
  3. Generating image data for the display in 16 bpp RGB565 color mode is achievable through tools like ImageMagick.

Building a decent microphone amplifier

lcamtuf’s thing • 2332 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Electronics
  1. Building a good far-field microphone kit requires attention to microphone sensitivity and selecting a suitable op-amp.
  2. Creating a basic but effective circuit architecture for a microphone amplifier involves understanding current-to-voltage conversion and noise reduction techniques.
  3. To avoid issues like over-amplification and background noise, solutions such as manual gain control and automatic gain control (AGC) can be implemented in microphone amplifier circuits.

Designing your own PCBs

lcamtuf’s thing • 2166 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Manufacturing Tools Prototyping
  1. Designing your own PCB allows for faster iteration on new designs compared to ordering custom circuit boards.
  2. KiCad is a recommended tool for designing hobby PCBs due to its extensive library of footprints and open-source nature.
  3. Consider important factors like component placement, trace widths, and manufacturing constraints for successful PCB layout.

Signal reflections in electronic circuits

lcamtuf’s thing • 185 HN points • 25 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Circuits
  1. Signal reflections in electronic circuits can cause echoes of previously-transmitted signals due to impedance discontinuities.
  2. Electronic signals do not propagate through wires instantly, but travel at high speeds, around 80% of the speed of light in vacuum.
  3. Matching the characteristic impedance of the transmission line to the transmitter helps avoid issues with signal reflections in high-speed digital electronics.

Mixed News on iPhone 15 Models

CIRP - Apple Report • 78 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Mobile Electronics Sales Apple
  1. First full quarter results for iPhone 15 models showed decent sales shares compared to iPhone 14 models in the previous quarter.
  2. iPhone 15 Pro Max was the leading model, accounting for 26% of all iPhone sales in the quarter.
  3. Base and Plus models of iPhone 15 had differences in sales performance compared to the Pro and Pro Max models.

Fuses

Only Wonder Knows • 39 implied HN points • 17 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Devices Components Circuits Design
  1. Fuses are essential components for providing protection in electronic circuits by blowing up when the current exceeds a certain threshold.
  2. Fuses have specific ratings like amperage and voltage, and their behavior can be affected by factors like temperature and pulse energy.
  3. Understanding the details of fuses is crucial for designing reliable circuit boards and ensuring proper functionality.

California Legislature Passes Electronics Right To Repair

Fight to Repair • 59 implied HN points • 15 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Design Sustainability Renewable Energy
  1. California Legislature passed a Right to Repair Act, a big win for consumers, small repair shops, and the environment, following years of lobbying resistance from tech firms.
  2. Designer Ollee Means breathes new life into old chairs by restoring and revitalizing them, highlighting the importance of repair and sustainability in modern design.
  3. Google agrees to 10 years of Chromebook support and sustainability measures like adaptive charging, saving costs, reducing waste, and promoting longer-lasting devices.

Would You DEFINITELY Buy A Sequencer That Was...

ASeq Newsletter • 65 implied HN points • 23 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Electronics Market research Survey Community Building
  1. The post discusses a poll for what people want in a sequencer, without vendors guiding the surveys.
  2. Considerations in the polls include the idea of a sequencer being identical except for one magical different feature from a new vendor.
  3. The poll asks if you would definitely buy the sequencer, potentially changing a planned purchasing decision.

Transmission line explorations - deeper investigations

Only Wonder Knows • 39 implied HN points • 20 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Manufacturing Materials Simulation Engineering
  1. Establish a close relationship with the PCB manufacturer to discuss concerns and ask for expected ranges.
  2. Consider ordering a PCB carefully as design complexity increases, requiring more aspects to be taken into account.
  3. Copper roughness, dielectric materials, and DK uniformity are crucial factors to consider in PCB design for high-speed signals.

Lab notebooks

Only Wonder Knows • 58 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Note Taking Debugging Tools
  1. Recording funny things in lab notebooks can save time and provide valuable insights for future work.
  2. Using a notebook for design work, organizing content, and including references can help centralize information.
  3. Taking oscilloscope captures, naming signals, and recording measurement values are important steps for effective debugging.

Oscilloscope measurements

Only Wonder Knows • 78 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Equipment Tools
  1. Oscilloscopes have been crucial tools in electronics for a long time, helping engineers understand and test signal changes.
  2. Digital oscilloscopes offer advanced features like horizontal position adjustment, holdoff function, and memory segmentation for better measurement control.
  3. Trigger modes on oscilloscopes, like 'auto' and 'normal,' serve different purposes in displaying and analyzing traces.

Chopper amplifiers: history and present

Only Wonder Knows • 19 implied HN points • 15 Dec 23
🔬 Science Electronics Engineering Physics Circuits
  1. Chopper amplifiers are a technique to reduce DC offset and low frequency noise in amplifiers.
  2. Historically, chopper amplifiers have been implemented using innovative methods like optical chopping with cadmium sulfide light-dependent resistors.
  3. Contemporary engineers can refer to Jim Williams' design for an ultrahigh performance instrumentation amplifier that resembles the old chopper amplifier concept.

Bicycles: An Antidote To Throw-Away Culture

Fight to Repair • 39 implied HN points • 28 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Repair Sustainability Right-to-repair Electronics Environment
  1. Bicycles can serve as a model for repairing and reusing items, fostering community connections, and resisting over-consumption.
  2. Understanding how to repair objects we rely on makes us more self-reliant, teaches us to help others, and deepens our respect for the materials and work that go into creating these objects.
  3. Promoting intentional ownership and repair of items, like bicycles, can help shift our global consumption habits, build community through repair organizations, and reduce waste in our society.

Making Hard PCBs At Home?

atomic14 • 2 HN points • 16 Feb 24
🕹 Technology DIY Electronics Experiments Home
  1. DIY nickel plating on PCBs can be a surprisingly simple process, but attention to detail is crucial for successful results.
  2. Using a hard wearing coating like nickel plating on copper PCBs can improve durability and scratch resistance.
  3. Experimenting with electroplating at home requires careful setup, attention to details like cleanliness and voltage, and may lead to interesting results and improvements in PCB toughness.

Fight to Repair Weekly: November, 28 2022

Fight to Repair • 39 implied HN points • 30 Nov 22
🕹 Technology Repairability Environment Legislation Electronics Advocacy
  1. EU is implementing new repair rules for electronics to reduce environmental impact, but advocates feel it falls short of a true "right to repair" needed to extend device lifespans.
  2. Upcoming EU policy changes will require access to parts, maintenance for devices after retiring, durability standards, and repair labeling, but critics push for stronger policies.
  3. Samsung is working on a new mobile app called 'Self Repair Assistant' to boost DIY repairs, while Apple seeks to restrict repair through patents. Advocacy efforts continue to push for right to repair laws.

Russia’s Nesting Satellite Problems

Ill-Defined Space • 1 HN point • 29 Feb 24
🔬 Science Space Satellites Electronics Funding Technology
  1. Russia's space industry faces challenges in meeting satellite production goals due to financial losses, lack of imported electronics, unclear strategies, resource obstacles, and conflicting priorities from top officials.
  2. Russian satellite manufacturers struggle with access to modern electronics, impacting their ability to scale up production and meet industry goals, possibly leading to prioritization of military satellite programs over commercial or civil ones.
  3. Plans for conveyor production to increase satellite output face obstacles such as scarcity of space-rated electronics, conflicting objectives between government wishes for a space station and the need for smallsat production expansion, and funding issues.

Fight to Repair Weekly: Week of November 14, 2022

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 16 Nov 22
🕹 Technology Repair Circular Economy Right-to-repair Electronics Recycling
  1. France is offering cash bonuses to consumers to repair their electronics, leading the way towards a circular economy.
  2. Washington D.C. has launched an interactive map to promote repair, reuse, and second-hand shopping, showing a commitment to reducing waste.
  3. Repair initiatives like these show a shift towards prioritizing sustainability and waste reduction over convenience and consumerism.

January Round Up

Maker News • 1 HN point • 26 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Electronics Engineering
  1. The January Round Up features clever hacks, homebrew projects, and deep dives into retro and cutting-edge tech.
  2. There are engaging videos to watch, such as driving WS2812B LEDs from scratch and repurposing an old mouse into a 3D mouse.
  3. Interesting reads include building a bed occupancy sensor and exploring vintage silicon-on-sapphire technology.

Fight to Repair Daily: Monday, September 12, 2022

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 13 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Repairs Copyright E-commerce Electronics Fashion
  1. The DMCA Section 1201 is facing a trial for potentially violating the 1st Amendment, as it imposes restrictions on free speech regarding digital locks and copyrighted work.
  2. iFixit outlined six key factors that influence the repairability of products, such as ease of access to batteries and overall repairability, which can impact whether a product is repairable or not.
  3. Steam Deck repair centers are now open for users to send in their devices for covered warranty repairs at no additional cost, following provided instructions and diagnostics.

The Week in Repair: Jan 25-Feb 1

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 03 Feb 22
🕹 Technology Repairability Circular Economy Right-to-repair Sustainability Electronics
  1. Germany is introducing a repairability index to encourage companies to build products that are easier to repair, rather than replace.
  2. Legislation like House Bill 1810 and right to repair laws aim to make tech products more durable and repairable, reducing e-waste.
  3. A circular economy approach is needed for electric vehicles, emphasizing reuse, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling to tackle environmental issues.

Children of the Geissler Tube

Atlas of Wonders and Monsters • 1 HN point • 17 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Physics Lighting Electronics Computers Discovery
  1. Heinrich Geissler invented the Geissler tube, a crucial technology that led to the development of modern world technologies.
  2. Geissler tubes were originally sold as novelty items before becoming important for lighting, including fluorescent and neon lights.
  3. The Geissler tube's descendants include the cathode-ray tube used in TVs, computers with vacuum tubes, transistors, and even diodes, impacting numerous aspects of our daily lives.

Silicon Carbide: A Power Electronics Revolution

The Asianometry Newsletter • 3 HN points • 29 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Electronics Semiconductors Manufacturing Innovation Applications
  1. Silicon carbide is a powerful semiconductor with unique properties like wide bandgap and high temperature tolerance.
  2. Silicon carbide-based power electronics are revolutionizing the industry by enabling higher voltages and frequencies with lower power loss.
  3. Challenges in producing silicon carbide wafers have limited its adoption, but recent advancements are making it more commercially viable.