While testing my I2S project I ran into some boot issues on the Raspberry Pi 4 host. For what seemed to be some unknown reasons the boot process was completely chaotic, sometimes running well, sometimes hanging. I banged my head for some time looking for a solution until it came to my mind to change […]
It came to my mailbox today: my new toy, a Panasonic HC-VXF1 camcorder. Many of you might wonder why — in the age of DJI and GoPro mini cameras — would anyone buy a camcorder. True, these seem to be quite obsolete, old-fashioned technology in the age of 4 and 8k (and beyond) and mind-boggling […]
Today I managed to connect the Digilent Pmod I2S2 to a Raspberry Pi 4 and have all frequencies generated. This is part of an older project that I left abandoned for a while: a radio node built on Raspberry Pi and using Svxlink. As known, Raspberry boards do not have a proper audio interface and […]
A couple of days ago I received from a friend of mine a Harris RF power pallet salvaged from a scrapped equipment. This pallet would be able to dissipate apx 300W PEP (black) on a 50 ohm load on ∼800 Mhz. Unfortunately I have no documentation for this. I do have the schematic but is […]
Recently I installed a trial version of the new PCB toolbox from Matlab. From Mathworks website: RF PCB Toolbox provides functions and apps for designing, analyzing, and visualizing high-speed and RF multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs). You can design components with parameterized or arbitrary geometry, including distributed passive structures such as traces, bends, and vias. […]
RF prototype boards arrived today from JLCPCB. The service was, as always, very fast and flawless. Seems they have a direct arrangements with Customs because I was not required to pay anything. I ordered 100 pcs for a total amount of 157 euros, apx 1.57 euro per piece. This includes manufacturing and shipment via DHL. […]
Last night it started snowing. For the last five years, we barely saw any snow in the city. When I was a kid, like half a century ago, there were winters when one could barely get out from the house without a shovel. Not anymore. We managed to f…k the nature. We enjoyed a walk […]
After quite some time when this space was in a mess, today I took almost a quantum leap: organizing everything and make it ready for my next projects was not an easy job. I miss building stuff and this space is perfect for such things. Some of my favourite tools are in the picture: the […]
Another “tip of the day”. I ran into this while testing some carousels and swiping banners. All needed the associated js scripts to be loaded lastly after the main page/ post content was already available. It seems that using wp_enqueue_script last argument as true will do the trick: Hope you will find this useful. Cheers […]
While working on my new theme for this site I ran into a problem: CSS collapsing margins. Well, from the beginning let me be very clear: this will not be a comprehensive article on this subject. There is already one written by Josh Comeau and is excellent: “The Rules of Margin Collapse“. I urge you […]
After procrastinating for at least five or six years, I decided to give a chance and refresh this website wordpress theme. To be honest, I was very lazy and I had absolutely no desire to start building from scratch an entire new wordpress theme. I know what a pain this is, mostly for the syling […]
This year reading challenge was short of three books. My resolution was to read 40. This is the list and the links on goodreads.com: Nikolai Gogol [27-28 decembrie, 2023) E.T.A. Hoffmann (20-21 noiembrie, 2023) Charlotte Brontë (15-19 noiembrie, 2023) Anaïs Nin (21 august, 2023) Ian Stewart (4-10 august, 2023) George Orwell (3 august, 2023) Daphne […]
I got COVID, again. Actually WE got COVID again, i.e. my wife and me. But it seems that the natural immunity kicks in much better now than two years ago because the symptoms are the same but shorter in duration. So… plenty of hot tea, paracetamol when needed, and a lot of rest and Hallmark […]
I wrote a list of things I want to finish this year. There are mostly various repairs and small fixes around the house; but there are also some other things like reading a certain book, or a certain number of books, or putting down, on a piece of paper, some resolutions for 2024. 2023 was […]
I have to confess that I fail to comprehend this obsession for cheap chinese devices. Although I understand the “cheap” part of the rationale, what constantly amaze me is the fact that usually people that buy such stuff are not necessarily financially challenged — a fact that could justify such a choice. Let’s be honest: […]
I discovered this technology rather recently on YouTube and I was instantly hooked by the opportunities. I bet most of you who had to insulate connectors or sections of hardware (like antenna segments, for example) relied heavily either on self vulcanizing tape or on electrical insulation tape. Both had disadvantages but for me the deal […]
I got a new Kindle !!! A seven inch Oasis, the latest and greatest from Amazon. After seven years, my previous Kindle developed some battery issues and is becoming more and more unreliable. So I took the opportunity of one of my friends travel to US and I ordered a new one. As I mentioned […]
The fourth edition of Tuzla Field Day took place this year on 14-17 September, 2023. Some pictures:
Today I received my latest order from Prusa, a TPU filament from ColorFabb along with some bronze inserts for 3D print assembly. Extremely fast shipment by DHL, the package arrived in only one day. Next days I will print some belts for a device that I have and will publish the results and my impressions. […]
This is a general purpose PCB that I designed in KiCad as a helper board for my Manhattan-style mounted RF projects. It allows connection via SMA connector (vertical or edge mount) and BNC. The two completely separated prototyping sections can be interconnected by using the SMAs in the middle or, if you want to save […]
A timelapse of Fusion360 design of the case of the 101dB attenuator project.
Another one in KiCad 7.0. I work on a project these days and I face all kind of weird stuff in KiCad 7.0. While running DRC in PCB editor, I ran into a “Footprint [whatever footprint] does not match copy in library [whatever library]” warning: This seems to be related whenever the 3D file is […]
A lot of microscopic tracks that needed to be cleaned up in your KiCad PCB project might end up messing with your DRC report: You just need to select and delete the culprit, then DRC gets cleared: Hope this helps. Greetings !
Greetings ! I completely neglected this website for a considerable amount of time. Simply I didn’t have either time or desire to write anything here. With this coming spring in 2023, with all this war and madness around us, I dug out my older passions, let them see the light again, made more time for […]
I made some progress on my antenna rotator project and installed the stepper drivers and the Raspberry Pi computer. I bought two drivers from ardushop.ro and these should work just fine. They are based on Toshiba TB6560AHQ, PWM Chopper-Type Bipolar Driver IC for Stepping Motor Control. The datasheet can be downloaded from here. My projects […]
I needed this 3D design for a mini N connector that I have in my shack but I was unable to find any 3d file (.STEP etc) online. The connectors are used for my 101dB attenuator project. Enjoy ! Greetings.
My 3D printed antenna rotator project for ham radio satellites. Status 09/16/2021
This is a short video about the progress of my 3D printed antenna rotator. Unfortunately only in romanian for now, but captions will be created soon.
I published on YouTube a video about how to export ecad files in KiCad and import them in Autodesk Fusion 360 to create nice electromechanical assemblies. Captions in english.
A very short clip with assembly test in Autodesk Fusion360: Raspberry Pi and a hat I designed for mobile radio. This type of simulation is extremely useful to pin point issues in mechanical design and assemblies (see at 0:35), that can be avoided early in the manufacturing process. I will create a more detailed tutorial […]