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1500 questions
31
votes
5 answers
What is causing large oscillations in my DC/DC boost converter? Is this ground bounce or some other effect?
I designed my first PCB for a DC-DC boost converter only to find that it produced very noisy output. The design is based around the MIC2253.
Here's a schematic:
Although my circuit allows for different combinations of input voltages (Vin) and…
Dave.Mech.Eng
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31
votes
5 answers
Design Calculations for the Seasoned EE
Do seasoned designers tend to do a fair amount of calculations or are large parts of circuits designed intuitively? I'm asking because it seems like design engineers tend to have a sense of what value cap you want to have here, resistor there, for…
inbinder
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31
votes
5 answers
How does division occur in our computers?
How does division occur inside digital computers? What is the algorithm for it?
I have searched hard in google but haven't got satisfactory results. Please provide a very clear algorithm/flowchart for division algorithm with a sample illustration.
program-o-steve
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31
votes
11 answers
Resistor suggestions for colorblind person
I'm a developer who has always had a love of the low-level electronis, but I have always been intimidated by it since resistors all seem to be color based and as a color-blind person, this is difficult to work with.
So my question to everyone here…
Mike
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31
votes
5 answers
Can I build a camera that is sensitive at 2.4GHz?
I want to build a camera obscura as an art project that produces photos of WiFi signals. The idea for now is to build a 125cm x 125cm x 125cm Faraday cage (using fine copper mesh) with a centered hole (diameter of 12.5cm) and 20 x 20 disc shaped…
Lenar Hoyt
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31
votes
2 answers
A PCB for a Drone
I'm making a drone, and would love if somebody can review my work on the PCB layout.
Image (red is top, blue is bottom, circles indicate holes and side transfers purple is glue):
What is supposed to happen:
Input from the radios is PWMs 1-6, which…
user86234
31
votes
7 answers
microcontroller vs. System on chip
I am starting out programming micro controllers and I was reading some documentation and textbooks. I am a little confused as to what the difference is between a Micro-controller and a System on chip?
Some documentation use these two terms inter…
rrazd
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31
votes
11 answers
Is it possible to physically destroy a microcontroller with software?
Assumptions:
No external circuitry connected (other than the programming circuit, which we assume to be correct).
uC is not faulty.
By destroying I mean releasing the blue smoke of death, not bricking it in software.
It's a "normal" uC. Not some…
Juan Carlos
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31
votes
2 answers
Does MOSFET let current flow through source to drain as it allows it from drain to source?
Does a MOSFET allow current flow in reverse direction (i.e.; from source to drain)?
I made a Google search, but couldn't find a clear statement about this matter. I have found this similar question, but it is about detecting current direction from…
hkBattousai
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30
votes
10 answers
When can FPGA's be used and Microcontrollers/DSPs not?
I have to choose between a course on advanced microcontrollers and a course on advanced FPGA's.
I have had introductory courses in both subjects, and what troubles me now is that I am already pretty good at firmware development for…
Jolle
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30
votes
7 answers
What makes a "balanced" audio signal?
What is "balanced" audio exactly, and why is it useful? I've read that it means there are two voltages, with one being the inverse of the other. A balanced audio receiver looks at the difference between these, and calls that the "signal". Noise…
Phil Frost
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30
votes
7 answers
Inductor vs a capacitor
I'm a Trainee electrician and pc hardware enthusiast. I was just wondering why a mixture of inductors and capacitors are used on motherboards? Why not just use capacitor? I thought the inductor stores electrical charge but it uses magnetism. What's…
Ageis
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30
votes
1 answer
Round female pin header vs square female pin header
What are the main differences (except for the obvious, one is round one is square) between the round pin headers and the square ones?
Or differently asked: Why would someone choose round pin headers over the square ones (or the other way…
Veda
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30
votes
5 answers
What's the uA741's appeal?
OK, so the uA741 is 42 years old now. For its time it may have been a great opamp; the requirements weren't as high as today, and there was far less competition. But I was wondering what's the 741's appeal today.
it's slow. GBW 1MHz, slew rate…
stevenvh
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30
votes
4 answers
Eagle - How to attach a pin not shown on schematic symbol?
In Eagle, I would like to include SN74HC595 shift registers in my project. I found a library online a few months ago (can't find source anymore) that has this part.
The symbol looks like this:
However, I noticed the symbol does not have power and…
ryantuck
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