Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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5 answers

What is the difference between burden resistor and a normal one?

I just came across the word 'Burden Resistor'. Is it any different from a normal resistor? If it is different, where can I possibly get one? Sparkfun hasn't got one listed. Any help is appreciated. I am trying to build a current sensing circuit.
Daniel Euchar
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What drives the advancement towards ever faster cellular network speeds?

I've always accepted that technology advances. Being born in the 90s, everything just becomes faster, smaller, cheaper and generally better if you wait a few years. This was most obvious with consumer electronics such as TVs, PCs and…
freejuices
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Optical audio transmitter can't handle speech

This is a question relating to my project on an optical audio transmitter. I wired up a very simple device in which I use an audio signal transformer (EI14) to modulate the intensity of a laser beam (a cheap 650nm, 5mW diode) according to the audio…
Piotr
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10 answers

Why do I need a ground when simulating a circuit? I thought voltage was relative between two nodes!

Electronics is very new to me. I took the most basic circuit I could think of: A voltage source of 1V and resistor of 1 Ohm As far a I understand I should get a current of (I = V/R) 1 Ampere. But the simulation does not give a solution and said I…
user135172
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Why am I cooking MOSFETs?

I've made a very simple MOSFET LED driver that uses the PWM of an Arduino Nano to switch a MOSFET which controls the power for about 16 meters of LED strip. I am using STP16NF06 MOSFETs. I am controlling RGB LEDs, so I use three MOSFETs one for each…
hamsolo474 - Reinstate Monica
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4 answers

Difference between maximum amps for chassis wiring and power transmission

I am putting together a test system that'll be carrying over 50Amps. I need to rate the wires that will be powering the device under test and also querying voltages and signals on the device. Looking at the AWG table hosted by powerstream there…
SeanJ
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How to become an embedded software developer?

I'd like some tips for those who want to become a good embedded software developer or want to improve in this area. What should I need learn about hardware, software? Which books are most recommended? Blogs? In the end, how could I go from a…
Daniel Grillo
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3 answers

How to view and customize beta of a transistor in LTspice

If I need to set beta to a custom value, is it possible to make a customized transistor with a beta of my choice? In other words, can I edit a ready or generic transistor's beta and save it as a custom transistor? How can I do that?
user1245
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What is this device attached to a high-voltage power line?

I noticed this white, cylindrical device on a power pole near Seattle that facilitates a 90-degree turn of the transmission line. It looks like the lightning conductor comes down the pole into a sort of service loop before disappearing into the…
Peter Schilling
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14 answers

Finding a faulty chip that draws too much current

Note that this is a theoretical question - there is no schematic I can show. I will show some schematic, but it will be a very simplified version of an actual circuit, only for illustration purposes. Assume I have a voltage converter that takes as…
nettek
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Is it important to file a new soldering iron tip before tinning?

I bought a cheap soldering iron. After reading articles and watching videos, I learnt that cheap irons get their resistor burnt easily. And many a times the iron becomes black as soon as you start heating it and then it cannot be tinned. I am afraid…
user141242
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8 answers

How do I prevent bridges while soldering SMD Components?

I have noticed that whenever I try to solder a component with many pins close together (like an IC), I get tiny bridges of solder, which shorts the pins. Is there any easy way to solder SMDs without solder bridges?
MetricSystemAdvocate
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Is 0603 vs 0402 assembly mass production cost optimization still relevant?

Historically, choosing a design avoiding 0402 and finer pitch components was advantageous for mass production cost savings. The yields were improved and accuracy requirements for pick and place machines were reduced. This allowed vendors to choose…
lm317
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Is there a downside to using multiple relays simultaneously to increase relay capacity

I want to install a relay to my fusebox which is controlling whole basement with machinery. Relays that I have have got 2A limit each, and I have 32 relays. Can I just use all of them for the same line and assume the relay's limit is 64A ? Is there…
user2102266
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8 answers

Using CPU heat to generate electricity

I've been reading Tanenbaum's Structured Computer Organization and he says one of the major bottlenecks for increasing CPU clock speed is heat. So I started thinking: Is it possible to remove the heatsink altogether and use that heat to generate…
Enzo Ferber
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