VNAs and Crystals
Oscillators may use crystals as precise tuned circuits. If you have a vector network analyzer (VNA) — or even some basic test equipment — you can use it to learn …read more Continue reading VNAs and Crystals
Category Archives: oscillator
Oscillator Needs Fine-Tuning
Since their invention more than a century ago, crystal oscillators have been foundational to electronic design. They allow for precise timekeeping for the clocks in computers as well as on …read more Continue reading Oscillator Needs Fine-Tuning
Simplest Speaker Oscillator, Now Even Simpler
It never fails. Lay down some kind of superlative — fastest, cheapest, smallest — around this place and someone out there says, “Hold my beer” and gets to work. In …read more Continue reading Simplest Speaker Oscillator, Now Even Simpler
Op-Amp Drag Race Turns Out Poorly for 741
When it was first introduced in 1968, Fairchild’s 741 op-amp made quite a splash. And with good reason; it packed a bunch of components into a compact package, and the …read more Continue reading Op-Amp Drag Race Turns Out Poorly for 741
No Inductors Needed for This Simple, Clean Twin-Tee Oscillator
If there’s one thing that amateur radio operators are passionate about, it’s the search for the perfect sine wave. Oscillators without any harmonics are an important part of spectrum hygiene, …read more Continue reading No Inductors Needed for This Simple, Clean Twin-Tee Oscillator
Back to Basics with a 555 Deep Dive
Many of us could sit down at the bench and whip up a 555 circuit from memory. It’s really not that hard, which is a bit strange considering how flexible …read more Continue reading Back to Basics with a 555 Deep Dive
Altoids Tin Spy Radio Goes Solid State
[Helge Fykse (LA6NCA)] has a type, as they say. At least as far as radios are concerned, he seems to prefer elegant designs that keep the BOM to the minimum …read more Continue reading Altoids Tin Spy Radio Goes Solid State
Clock Hack Gives DEC Rainbow a New Lease on Life
In retrocomputing circles, it’s often the case that the weirder and rarer the machine, the more likely it is to attract attention. And machines don’t get much weirder than the …read more Continue reading Clock Hack Gives DEC Rainbow a New Lease on Life
An LM386 Oscillator Thanks to Tungsten Under Glass
Once ubiquitous, the incandescent light bulb has become something of a lucerna non grata lately. Banned from home lighting, long gone from flashlights, and laughed out of existence by automotive …read more Continue reading An LM386 Oscillator Thanks to Tungsten Under Glass
Spy Transceiver Makes Two Tubes Do the Work of Five
Here at Hackaday, we love following along with projects as they progress. That’s especially true when a project makes a considerable leap in terms of functionality from one version to …read more Continue reading Spy Transceiver Makes Two Tubes Do the Work of Five