DESIGNING YOUR OWN DIGITAL ICs (FPGAs)
Who would have thought that we would be able to progress from discrete components, to integrated circuits, to eventually being able to create our own ICs inside a reusable universal chip know as an FPGA?

The FPGA is a marvel of modern electronics engineering. The Field Programmable Gate Array has blurred the line between purpose-built chips and “clones” that are functionally identical. In this article, we’ll be exploring FPGA history, technology, and uses.

THE PERCEPTRON CIRCUIT

This article will show you how to build your very own electronic analog neuron, named the Perceptron. Creating a single neuron may not seem earth shattering in the grand scheme of things, considering that your brain has over 1010 of them! However, a neuron is the fundamental building block of intelligence.

The Perceptron circuit provides a hands-on way to demonstrate the principles of neuron operation, and also allows you to explore basic Boolean logic functions. Last but not least, it is a cool gadget to have sitting on your desk to impress your hacker and/or nerdy friends..

BUILD A WALL WART POWER MONITOR
This self-contained, battery-powered unit measures both DC current and voltage. It accepts four of the most common wall wart plugs and also has four identical output plugs, ready to hook to your project.

As an experimenter, I use wall warts all the time to power circuit boards, microcontroller boards, and even finished projects. However, during the checkout phase of a new circuit, wall warts present a problem. How do you measure their output when they’re plugged into a board or project box?

CONSPIRACY THEORY
Does someone have a grand conspiracy to wipe out the retail electronic component industry in the US?

The infrastructure for electronic experimentation is rapidly evaporating. Brick and mortar parts suppliers are scarce, and finding parts for existing devices is often frustrating. So, how do we turn this trend around, and keep electronics as a hobby alive? For my part, I’m into repurposing.

Super Awesome Cube Kit

Need soldering experience? This is the kit for you!

Soldering skills are required by industry manufacturing electronic products as well as electronics enthusiasts developing new prototypes. What distinguishes the skilled solderer is the ability to perform work at a level that insures reliability. Here’s a kit that even though it’s electronically simple, it provides the builder with an array of soldering challenges and hours of soldering experience.

Find It in the NV Webstore

TOSS THE TOGGLE
Don’t let your projects be embarrassed by their old-school toggles and slide switches! Upgrade them to the power of pushbuttons!

Most electronic devices today have a single button you push to turn them on and off. Think of your cell phone, laptop, and even your TV. There is no toggle to flip, no knob to turn back and forth, nor slide switch to move. So, how do you get one of these power buttons into your project so your latest gadget can sit next to your other devices without the embarrassment of a toggle or slide switch?

UNDERSTANDING HARMONICS USING SIMULATION

Harmonics form a base line for testing, comparing, and explaining various circuits.

This short tutorial shows how you can systematically look at the structure of complex circuits using a simulation program and building block approach.

THE MAGNETIC AMPLIFIER
A Lost Technology of the 1950s.

Most folks believe that first came the vacuum tube and right on its heels came its successor, the transistor — a historical fact, correct? Not really. Another competitive control technology developed by US and Nazi engineers came in between. It was the magnetic amplifier. Rugged, dependable, EMP-proof, and capable of handling greater electrical powers than either transistor or tube, the magnetic amplifier is a simple device that can be built by anyone.

THE ART OF DIAGNOSIS
Don’t get frustrated by non-working circuits. Embrace them!

I discovered that after gaining a degree of manual fluency working with components, breadboards, and a soldering iron, there wasn’t much to be gained from a continuing string of successes.

Super Awesome Cube Kit

Need soldering experience? This is the kit for you!

Soldering skills are required by industry manufacturing electronic products as well as electronics enthusiasts developing new prototypes. What distinguishes the skilled solderer is the ability to perform work at a level that insures reliability. Here’s a kit that even though it’s electronically simple, it provides the builder with an array of soldering challenges and hours of soldering experience.

Find It in the NV Webstore

THE COMPUTER THAT TOOK MAN TO THE MOON
The Apollo moon landings remain one of mankind’s greatest engineering efforts.

During the 1960s, computers occupied whole rooms but had less power than the PC now sitting in your home. There weren’t even pocket calculators back then. And yet, on September 12, 1962, President Kennedy proposed the building of “a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch.”

Get More Details Here!

Advertisement

HOW TO CHOOSE AN OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER

Learn how to wade through datasheet jargon and select the op-amp that best fits your needs.

There are probably thousands of operational amplifiers (op-amps) available. But which one is the best for your particular application?

BUILD A WIRELESS DOORBELL PAGER FOR THE DEAF
Here’s a simple circuit you can build for those who have lost their hearing.

This is a great device for those who need to know when an Amazon package or a friend/relative has arrived at the front door.

LIGHTNING SCREEN
For those interested in high voltage phenomena, this device is for you.

Although it represents a principle of physics centuries old, anyone with a passion for lightning, high voltage phenomena, and electrical history will find this device to be an impressive performer.

Super Awesome Cube Kit

Need soldering experience? This is the kit for you!

Soldering skills are required by industry manufacturing electronic products as well as electronics enthusiasts developing new prototypes. What distinguishes the skilled solderer is the ability to perform work at a level that insures reliability. Here’s a kit that even though it’s electronically simple, it provides the builder with an array of soldering challenges and hours of soldering experience.

Find It in the NV Webstore

CAN’T KEYBOARD? USE MORSE CODE INSTEAD

Can’t easily use a keyboard for text? Dot and dash it!

A few months ago, I accepted a challenge: Design a way for people who can’t easily use a keyboard to create text for applications such as Word, OpenOffice, eBay, or Google via Morse code. It takes only two fingers to create them, and learning to send Morse code proves easier than learning to receive it, which requires much practice. See how I used a $10 Cypress Semiconductor CY8CKIT-059 MCU board to mimic a USB keyboard but without software drivers, code libraries, or special USB-interface ICs.

Get More Details Here!

Advertisement

VISUAL HEXADECIMAL

Memory association techniques can ease the hexadecimal struggle.

This article discusses a method to master the conversion from hexadecimal notation to binary and decimal using memory association. It’s natural to struggle with the awkward notation used to represent hexadecimal. By using memory association, one can become more proficient in going back and forth from hex to binary.

HOW TO USE A TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH

The NPN transistor switch can easily solve many design problems.

Whether you need to flash an LED, energize a relay, turn a buzzer or alarm on or off, or invert a voltage level, the NPN transistor switch can easily solve your problem. This article shows you how to use a transistor as a simple SPST switch.

MARVELOUS MAGNETIC MACHINES

See how to make magical motors from spare parts.

Innovators can get inspiration from the unique ideas presented in this new book.

WIRESPONDENCE!

Recording a message on a wire spool and mailing it off to family and friends became a growing fad called “wirespondence.”

The magnetic wire recorder, ancestor to the tape recorder, had undergone great development during World War II. By the late 1940s, wire recorders were available in consumer equipment.

USING SERIAL BLUETOOTH WITH A MICROCONTROLLER

Stream serial data via Bluetooth as an alternative to RS-232 cables and build a Crystal Palace in the process.

In my previous article, I developed microcontroller-based hardware and software to control a matrix of 8×8 RGB LEDs. I thought since I still had that hardware laying around, I would use it as a test bed for experimenting with Bluetooth. I had never done anything with Bluetooth before, so I thought it was about time I did.

WHY YOU NEED AN ANALOG FRONT END AND HOW TO SET IT UP

How to make your sensors talk nice to your microcontroller.

The analog input to an Arduino Uno has a resolution of only 10 bits. On a 5V scale, this is only about 1 mV of sensitivity. If you need more sensitivity, don’t look at another microcontroller. Look at adding an analog front end to your Arduino.

RESTORING A VINTAGE ZENITH TABLE TOP AM/FM RECEIVER FROM THE ’60s

Explore the world of tube-type electronics by restoring a classic AM/FM receiver.

Teardowns of vintage gear in which you carefully note component values, construction techniques, and create a schematic from scratch are a great introduction to vacuum tubes. The next level (and the focus of this article) is to restore tube-type devices, starting with a tabletop radio. Not only will you learn to work with the technology, but you’ll have something of value when you’re done.