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Design and construct it! A DIY speaker resonance tester, a compact warning flasher, and more

If you can't see this message properly, view it in your browser. May 10, 2024 | #590    Compact Warning Flasher This little project should give peace of mind to bicycle riders pedaling in the dark without street lighting. At the same time it provides early warning to faster, motorized road users to pay attention and pass with care.   more...     Fnirsi SWM-10: Repair Battery Packs With This Portable Intelligent Spot Welding Machine (Review) Anyone who has ever tried to solder a wire or metal strip to a battery will know that this is near to impossible. What you really need for such a repair job is a spot welding tool. This is where the Fnirsi SWM-10 comes in.   more...     Raspberry Pi   The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4

Valued Subscriber, The meteoric rise in SATCOM

The meteoric rise in SATCOM   View web version 9 May 2024 — Issue 19 | Vol 9     Source Products   |   Webinar Library   |   Standards The meteoric rise in SATCOM The proliferation of satellite communication (SATCOM) terminals is a testament to human ingenuity, enabling data exchange from literally any point on the globe to another. Read more  → American Power Design, Inc. Miniature 3 W high voltage converter with output to 6,000 V The J3 Series DC/DC converters output voltage is controllable from 0 to 100% which provides positive and negative outputs from one single, compact, low-cost, high-voltage module.   View more THK America, Inc. Cutting-edge equipment and technology that can

Understanding voltage by digging a hole

John is 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall. And in this email I'm going to put him into a hole to show you what negative voltage means. But first, what does it mean that John is 1.8 m tall? Could you find his height by only looking at his head? No. You have to compare the top of his head to the ground he is standing on to be able to find his height. That John is 1.8 m tall really means that the top of his head is 1.8 m higher than the ground that he stands on. ​ It's the same thing with voltage. You can't say anything about the voltage without comparing it to another point. It's common to define a zero point, or "ground", in a circuit. In a simple battery circuit, the ground point is usually the minus terminal of the battery. So if someone says that "this point is 5V", they usually mean it's 5V compared to ground. ​ What is a negative voltage? Back to John. What if we dig a hole of 1.8 meters, then put John into the hole. (Poo

Could you or did you?

Are you waiting for inspiration to finally learn electronics? Well, wait no longer. I read this quote a while back, but I forgot who wrote it: "I don't believe in inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just sit down and do the work." ​ Also, in my old gym there was a similar quote by Michael Jordan: "I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will follow" ​ Are you putting in the work to learn electronics? By "putting in the work" I mean sitting down and building circuits, not just reading about them. It's nice to read about a project or circuit, understand the explanations, and think "I could do that". However, sitting down and actually doing the project, so that you later can say "I did that" - that's what it takes to learn electronics! Start with small and simple projects. Then progress from there. ​ Keep On Soldering! Oyvind @ build-electronic-circuits

Weekend DIY electronics projects! Talking colorimeter, gamma ray measurement, and more

If you can't see this message properly, view it in your browser. May 3, 2024 | #589    Measure Gamma Rays with a Photodiode: Radiation Detector Using a BPW34 The first device that springs to mind when thinking about measuring radioactivity is the Geiger-Müller tube. However, these counter tubes can be difficult to find and expensive; and, even if you do manage to get hold of one, you will still need to find a way to generate its operating voltage of several hundred volts. It is less well known that even a humble photodiode such as the BPW34 can be used to detect X-rays and gamma radiation.   more...     The Andonstar AD210, an Affordable Digital Microscope with a 10.1" Display The Andonstar AD210 is an entry-level model digital microscope with a large 10.1″ display. It is mai