Micro Basics -

Field - a novel

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 23:35:02 -0500

I participated in NaNoWriMo 2006 - the National Novel Writing Month, and successfully wrote a 50,000+ word novel - Field.

The first dozen or so pages start with a couple sent into orbit dealing with isolation, then flashes back to the middle of the problem that sent them up there in the first place.

I enjoyed writing it, and you'll find it quite enjoyable if you enjoy a bit of science fiction, set in our time.

You can get all 220 pages as a download or book for a very reasonable price.

Click here to buy the book or PDF

Click here to read the beginning sample

Electronics kits for kids

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:06:09 -0500

I had a Radio Shack 300-in-one electronics kit with the little spring contacts and wires. I’ve been interested in seeing how snap circuits (which have been around for quite some time now) worked in real life, but figured they’d disappear sooner or later along with all the other electronics that’s disappearing.

Back when you didn’t have a computer in every house, and tapes were still cool it was neat for kids to design a “big ear” amplifier, or a buzzer that turned on when the lights went out.

...

Bed of Nails PCB Assembly Tester

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:30:48 -0500

A Bed of Nails tester is an array of spring loaded pins (pogo pins) that accept a circuit board. The circuit board is pressed down onto the pins, and each pin makes contact with a given pad or contact on the PCB. The other side of the pin connects to circuitry used to test the PCB.

Bed of nails testers are used in PCB fabrication to make sure all the traces and vias are complete, as well as PCB assembly to test proper operation of the circuit, and may also be used to program FLASH, EEPROMs, microcontrollers, and other parts after assembly.

Phil Eisermann responded to a recent inquiry on the PICList on constructing a bed of nails tester:

Where do I end up if I dig straight down?

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:06:16 -0400

Alex Harford posted a message on the piclist (electronics enthusiasts, mainly PICmicro microcontrollers) debunking the common belief that if a person in the USA digs straight through the center of the earth, they'll end up in China.

I determined to resolve the question and explore where the end of the tunnel occurs given any spot on earth. I spent an hour making an antipodal geography tool using Google Maps to answer the question:

Yummy seasoned oyster crackers

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:32:53 -0400

Of the various delicious foods my Grandmother (maternal) made, a few stand out to me. This is how she would season oyster crackers:

Ingredients:

24oz of oyster crackers
1 Cup Oil
1 package Hiden Valley Ranch Homestyle Onion Dressing
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dillweed

Instructions:
Mix everything EXCEPT the crackers.
Add the crackers and mix really well.
Spread out on a cookie sheet.
Bake at ~300F-325F until crispy.

Perhaps I will locate and add the recipes for spiced peach jam, Alcapulco Delight, and her coffee cake...

Timepieces for the Blind

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:08:42 -0400

Generally, there are two main timepieces made for the blind. There are Braille watches which usually have a flip-up cover over a regular analog watch face. By feeling the position of the hands on the watch one may determine the time. The second is the talking watch. A button is pressed whereupon the watch announces the time.

It occurred to me that one could easily make a third type which would instead vibrate a series of pulses that provide the time, perhaps in a more discreet manner than the prior two methods. I knew that I wouldn't be the first to think of it, so I did a search and found only one product which uses this method.

Driving static LCD displays

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:00:04 -0400

Most projects need to output information to people. Many projects use text LCD displays, which are very flexible and can provide a lot of readable information.

But many projects need to display only a little information. Maybe they need to be even cheaper. Perhaps there's only a small battery available and it needs to run for a long time. In these cases a statically driven LCD display or panel may be all that's needed.

Magellan eXplorist 400 Review

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 23:55:03 -0400

I recently purchased my first GPS receiver and found my first Geocache, something I've been wanting to do since 2000 when geocaching came to be.

I purchased the Magellan eXplorist 400 with Topo 3D as a bundle from Sam's Club. Read my impressions of this GPS on my first Google Page Creator page - something I also wanted to try out, and will likely review another time.

Wireless Intercom PCB Assembly

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 19:30:39 -0500

I entered the schematic and layed out a quick PCB for the wireless intercom project. I want others to be able to build it, and I know many people don't like to work with SMT so I designed it to support both SMT and through hole components.

It makes a fairly compact package - about 2" x 1.7" x 1" not including the batteries. As you can see, the SMT version is thinner. The weight difference between the two is insignificant.

SMT version:

Wireless intercom V3 Prototype done

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 18:51:45 -0500

I completed assembly of the basic prototypes for version 3 of the wireless intercom:

Full duplex wireless intercom

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 22:20:01 -0500

I had a succesful first test of one-way communication for the RF900DV modules from Laipac. This is the beginning of version 3 of my bicycle intercom. Since I've never posted about this before, a little introduction is in order:

About 3 years ago my sister and I became very active in road cycling, specifically Ultra-Cycling events such as 24 hour races, 500 mile races, and the penultimate Race Across America - a 9 day, 3000 mile race across the USA from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean.

Light Dimming

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 14:40:53 -0500

This information can be dangerous and lethal if not used properly. It is assumed that the reader is competant with high voltages, and has the knowledge necessary to implement a safe working and use environment when dealing with electricity, and its associated hazards. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY. This is provided for informational purposes and does not imply any warranty or responsibility on the author's part.

Phase controlled dimming is a method of providing AC power to a load only during certian phases of the AC cycle.

Rotary Encoders

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 19:42:46 -0500

[Output] [Timing] [What's Inside]

Rotary Encoders are devices with a shaft which one can rotate that has output which will indicate either: the shaft's absolute position, or its relative position. The common computer mouse has two relative position rotary encoders The following is a dialogue between myself and Tom, who had a few questions about rotary encoders.

Build a Homemade Media Center PC

Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:51:02 -0500

Build a Homemade Media Center PC - DigitalDame2 writes "PC Magazine's Loyd Case explains how to build a Media Center PC of your own, how to choose the parts for a custom project, and tips for the Motherboard." I imagine you guys might have some other opinions on what parts and tools to use for the task... [Slashdot]

We started our PVR home entertainment system with a Hauppage WinTV PVR-250, and then upgraded to an ATI HDTV Wonder in 2004 to watch the summer Olympics in 1080i. Needless to say I can't watch our old TV anymore - everything about it is poor compared to using the HDTV Wonder.

Programming the PIC16F84 Microcontroller

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 22:28:55 -0500

[Also available in an offline version including supporting files]

PIC MICROCONTROLLERS:

When studying the PIC series of microcontrollers, the first thing to realize is that the architecture is completely different from anything you are probably used to. This makes understanding the PIC quite confusing at first. You are probably familiar with the spinal cord type of computer with memory, cpu and perpherial chips hooked in parallel to the same data and address bus. The PIC chips have two separate 'data' busses, one for instructions and one for everything else. Instructions are essentially in ROM and dedicate the microcontroller to doing one task. There is very little RAM, a few dozen bytes, and this is reserved for variables operated on by the program. There is also very little 'data' storage, again a few dozen bytes, and this is in EEPROM which is slow and clumsy to change.