All electronics related. For finer selection go for sub-categories.
I was looking for a RF power module for my APRS beacon project and stumbled upon RF Parts. They are somehow of a niche–oriented online electronic part retailers, specialised on RF and — it seems — mostly on Ham Radio RF parts. I placed my order for two Mitsubishi power RF MOSFET Amplifier Modules and the package […]
While designing/ working on my APRS project, I used LTSpice IV for some simulations. For those that don’t know, LTspice IV is a high performance SPICE simulator, schematic capture and waveform viewer from Linear Technology. It is a freeware and can be downloaded from this link. Versions for my both platforms exist, Win 7.0 and Mac. […]
This will be a very short post. And only for the blog. I have a sweet spot (call it idiosyncrasy) for stationery. I mean, some people do heroin, some do alcohol, some do Oprah. I am addicted to stationery. Put me in a stationery shop — you can leave me there all day (give or take), […]
This is a quick update post. The road I took with this little project is slowly getting to a dead end due to what it seems to be a lack of available crystals for 144.8 (like 48.26 or 28.96 MHz, for using the third or fifth harmonic). I believe that, currently, all APRS modules are […]
More work today and yesterday on this project. Still locking on 144 MHz, but this is normal, the crystal I used is a 48 MHz overtoned, working on the third harmonic in this case, thus spot on 144.0 MHz: I managed to clean the output, at the expense of transmitted power. I used a 7-pole 2m bandpass […]
Been busy at work lately, but still had some time for myself. Latest idea: a low-cost APRS beacon, done with a classical 144.8 Mhz TX and a μController. AX.25 on air. Automatically. So these days I’ve been busy making this: Winding coils, soldering, measuring. Fun. The frequency is remarkable stable, given the rudimentary nature of this. For example, […]
Mailbag today 2 ! This time from NXP. OMFG, look what I got ! This baby will definitely end up in a power RF amplifier for my Ham Radio fun time. This will be a project. THANK YOU NXP ! Got them both today ! And I have to tell you, the girls and guys […]
Not very often I have the occasion to salvage some good parts from throw–away devices. Two days ago I found an empty TV set carcass lying on the sidewalk with some pieces left. The rest was — probably — savagely ripped off for copper and some other metals. It’s a bit of shame to see […]
This is very, very short. Books I have to read. But I really, really have to read: Art of electronics book Art of electronics student book Masterminds of programming
Until recently I have extensively used my MacBook, AVRDude and USBTiny for my μController projects: Now I got myself a proper tool, the AVRISP markII, mostly because I wanted to use AVRStudio 6.0 features: Key features: Programs both flash and EEPROM Supports fuses and lock bit programming Upgradeable for future device support Supports target voltages from […]
Looking for some detailed information about JFET circuit analysis, I ran today into three excellent videos posted by Bournemouth University. Already subscribed to them. The videos are part of Linear and Switching Circuits Series and target the following topics: Performing the DC JFET circuit analysis of a simple JFET self-bias amplifier (to find the circuit […]
I love organizations that know how to share their know-how. Analog Devices is one of them.
Fabulous piece of literature from NXP (here’s the link to a cool pdf). Nothing beats a well written material. So it seems that I have some very interesting thing to do this evening: printing this and have a good read. This comes on perfect timing for my MOSFET dummy load project ! Quoting from NXP’s material: […]
Next steps for my dummy load prototype based on IRF830 N-Channel MOSFET, and a LM328 plus a multi turn pot.
There are good tools and poor tools. Weller WD 1000 M is a state-of-art quality instrument that looks good, feels good, has a plethora of gimmicks and is a pleasure to work with. Let’s find out some more about my new soldering station.
The MAX17058/MAX17059 ICs are tiny fuel gauges for lithium-ion (Li+) batteries in handheld and portable equipment. The MAX17058 operates with a single Li+ cell and the MAX17059 with two Li+ cells in series…
A customized Application Test Library is created for testing the specifications introduced in this measurement handbook. They can be downloaded from the Agilent web site.
Today I started to complete the design of the RF12B Breakout Board for various prototyping.
A very thorough and useful reference produced by Ron Mancini at Texas Instruments. A must read for anyone takes OpAmps seriously: “OpAmps for Everyone”
I just got it few days ago, a superb brand new Agilent 2002A Digital Storage Oscilloscope. Needless to say that I am absolutely thrilled by this 2G/s 70Mhz baby. It is a perfect addition for my electronics projects. Now I am playing with it, much to discover in the documentation. It comes with a CD […]
