I2C the Hard Way
[Igor] has an AS5600 magnetic rotary encoder chip on a breakout board. Normally, you’d think that was an easy device to work with since it has an I2C interface. But …read more Continue reading I2C the Hard Way
Author Archives: Al Williams
Ideal Diodes and How to Build Them
[Julian] knows that real diodes you can buy don’t work exactly like we say they do. That’s actually pretty common. We routinely ignore things like wire resistance and source resistance …read more Continue reading Ideal Diodes and How to Build Them
Inside the RLL Hard Drive Protocol
If you are younger than a certain age, RLL probably doesn’t mean much to you. Old consumer-grade hard drives used MFM (modified frequency modulation like a floppy disk uses) and …read more Continue reading Inside the RLL Hard Drive Protocol
Power Supply PCB Redesign
We’ve often heard you should do everything twice. The first time is to learn what you need to do, and the second time is to do it right. We bet …read more Continue reading Power Supply PCB Redesign
Smart Glasses Read Text
You normally think of smart glasses as something you wear as either an accessory or, if you need a little assistance, with corrective lenses. But [akhilnagori] has a different kind …read more Continue reading Smart Glasses Read Text
Laser Painting Explained
If you get an inexpensive diode laser cutter, you might have been disappointed to find it won’t work well with transparent acrylic. The material just passes most of the light …read more Continue reading Laser Painting Explained
Module Makes Noisy Projects Easy
You want to add voice, music, or sound effects to your project. What do you do? Sure, it is easy enough to plug a Raspberry Pi or some other tiny …read more Continue reading Module Makes Noisy Projects Easy
Tech In Plain Sight: Tasers Shooting Confetti
One of the standard tropes in science fiction is some kind of device that can render someone unconscious — you know, like a phaser set to stun. We can imagine …read more Continue reading Tech In Plain Sight: Tasers Shooting Confetti
A Phone? A Ham Radio? Relax! It’s Both!
A lot of hams like to carry a VHF radio. Of course, nearly everyone wants to carry a phone. Now, thanks to the kv4p HT, you don’t have to carry …read more Continue reading A Phone? A Ham Radio? Relax! It’s Both!
A VIC-20 with no VIC
[DrMattRegan] has started a new video series to show his latest recreation of a Commodore VIC-20. The core of the machine is [Ben Eater’s] breadboard 6502 design. To make it …read more Continue reading A VIC-20 with no VIC