NUTS & VOLTS DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO RELIABLE OSCILLATORS AND TIMERS — PART 1
Common Problems in the Design of Digital Oscillators and Their Remedy.

Electronic designers are familiar with the apparent perversity of Nature in the tendency of amplifiers to oscillate and oscillators to amplify. But even the beginning designer knows that questions of oscillation and stability involve feedback — that ubiquitous structure in natural systems and many man-made ones — whereby a fraction of the system’s output energy is fed back to the input to produce useful effects.

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NIXIIE-NEON CLOCK

Time for another cool clock design using Nixie tubes.

The NixieNeon clock is a product of my love for clocks and electronics. I believe that its intriguing design can provide hours of enjoyment and satisfaction both in its construction, as well as watching it work once it’s complete.

Pico Techology Tools in Education

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BAIT AND SWITCH FOR HALLOWEEN FUN
Delight and fright with these fun build ideas for the upcoming holiday season.

I’ve come to philosophically believe that our friends and neighbors secretly want and need to have a good fright around Halloween. In fact, I tremble to think of the psychological damage that could be done if we shirked our responsibility as haunters once a year! (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) Along with a couple fun build ideas, this article covers some really entertaining animatronic principles and characters that make wonderful projects any time of year — even without the scare.

BUILD THE RETROGAME
Build it, play it, and re-master your skills at Retro Rover and Tetris.

So, my wife volunteered me for “Science Day” at my son’s elementary school — an annual half day program where moms and dads taught mini-courses on everything from rocketry to zoology to chemistry. But what could I teach the kids? No sooner did the thought cross my mind, did I get the answer: Build a video game!

REPLACING THE 555 WITH A PIC — PART 5 — A DIGITAL ANALOG
This is the final installment that looks at the remaining circuits from the book, 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims.

This final article in our series will examine those circuits from the “555 Timer IC Circuits” by Forrest Mims which were not covered in any of the preceding four articles.

ETRACER DIGITAL TUBE TESTER AND CURVE TRACER KIT

We take on a digital tube tester and curve tracer kit.

This modern take on the tube tester is a must-have for anyone who regularly works with tube-type electronics.

THE CRYPT CREATURE
This entombed skeleton prop is startling good fun.

The Crypt Creature is an animated six foot tall replica of a stone block burial crypt with black bars in front. When activated, the creature lets out a loud growl, lunges forward, and forces the bars open. It then bellows "Happy Halloween!" in a deep sinister voice. Perfect to delight kids of all ages!

GET ASCII DATA FROM PS-2 KEYBOARDS
Convert PS-2 key codes to corresponding ASCII values.

You can buy inexpensive PS-2 keyboards, but they don’t produce ASCII values many applications need. To further complicate things, these keyboards have their own code-transmission protocol. See how to use a system-on-a-chip and a bit of software to convert PS-2 key codes to corresponding ASCII values.

REPLACING THE 555 WITH A PIC — PART 4 — A DIGITAL ANALOG
This fourth article discusses the more complex circuits from the book, 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims.

Some will use the PIC replacement from Part 1, while others will develop specific programs using a PIC to emulate a particular implementation of a 555.

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SYNCHRONIZING A 60 Hz CRYSTAL CONTROLLER OSCILLATOR TO THE LINE

Synchronization of digital systems to the 60 Hz line has some surprisingly interesting challenges.

Though the science of synchronizing one analog signal to other analog signal is somewhat well-trod ground, the introduction of digital systems created surprisingly interesting challenges for synchronization. Here is just one of many possible ways to solve this particular problem.

WAVES AND PROPAGATION: PART 2 — RADIO HORIZON
Not only hams can take advantage of radio propagation — everybody has a chance to experience some very interesting ways of interacting with the natural world through wireless.

In Part 1, we covered a batch of basics on waves and propagation: definitions of terms, and some fundamentals of how waves travel about. Not only hams can take advantage of radio propagation — everybody has a chance to experience some very interesting ways of interacting with the natural world through wireless. Let’s put that know-how to work!

BUILD A FOUR TRANSISTOR METAL DETECTOR
For a bold and eye-catching output display in your next electronic Want to be a treasure hunter?

By discerning subtle changes in frequency, this design is capable of detecting coins to a depth of three to four inches. The circuit can sense a soda can at a depth of six inches and metal pipes at an even greater distance.

REPLACING THE 555 WITH A PIC — PART 3 — A DIGITAL ANALOG
This third article discusses the less complex audio oscillator circuits from 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims.

More experiments using PIC processors in the typical role of a 555 timer! This third article in a recurring series examines several of the circuits from 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims, which are simple astable multivibrators.

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THE STORY OF THE TRANSISTOR

A journey through the history that led to the most important invention of the 20th century.

Life would not be the same without the transistor, which was invented just over seven decades ago. It is considered by researchers and historians to be the most important invention of the 20th century, leading to groundbreaking advances in computing, communications, medicine, and practically every technically related field. In this article, we’ll examine the contributions of the personalities and organizations involved, as well as the impetus that led to this landmark invention.

WAVES AND PROPAGATION: PART 1
Radio and wireless are all about waves and how they link distant points together. Learn about RF propagation, which is the way radio signals get from Point A to Point B.

One key element of ham radio is propagation — the way radio signals get from Point A to Point B. Lots of projects involve wireless links, so it behooves the builder to have a bit of an idea about how propagation works. After all, with so many choices available, you need information to understand your requirements for choosing the right technology and installing it properly. We’ll start with some basics of radio waves, then get them bouncing around.

GETTING STARTED WITH MATRIX LED DISPLAYS
For a bold and eye-catching output display in your next electronic masterpiece, consider exploiting a matrix LED device.

You’ll be able to create just about any symbol or pattern you want, and can even animate things for some action-packed results.

SEVEN COMMON WAYS TO GENERATE A SINE WAVE

There are literally dozens of ways to generate a sine wave. Here are some of the more popular methods you should be familiar with.

The sine wave is a naturally occurring signal shape in communications and other electronic applications. Many electronic products use signals of the sine wave form. Audio, radio, and power equipment usually generates or processes sine waves.

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REPLACING THE 555 WITH A PIC — PART 2: A DIGITAL ANALOG

This second article examines several of the circuits from 555 Timer IC Circuits by Forrest Mims, that are used basically as a monostable multivibrator.

Inspired by Forrest Mims and his Mini-Notebook series, we are detailing the emulation of a 555 or 556 using a PIC in several different circuits in our own set of articles. In this installment, we’ll review the specific circuits which use the 555 as a simple one-shot and discuss the PIC replacement for the same applications.

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UNIVERSAL RELAY BOARD

This universal relay board will allow you to drive a 12V DPDT relay using heat, cold, light, dark, sound, logic-level voltages, and just about any varying resistive output sensor you can think of.

In fact, you can use it to switch the relay ON or OFF using any voltage between zero to 12V DC or any sensor that has a varying output in this range. This is the ultimate relay board.

WIRE WRAP IS ALIVE AND WELL!
Here’s a different option from PCB fabrication.

Construction articles found in electronics magazines use printed circuit boards for all but the simplest circuits, so investing time and money into the PCB fabrication process seems to be the next logical step, albeit a bit daunting for the new hobbyist. PCB fabrication is not necessarily the next step.

There is another alternative … wire wrap.