Sony Vaio Revived: How Does One Start?
A long-term project of mine is the the Sony Vaio new mainboard project. A year ago, I used it as an example to show you the cool new feature in …read more Continue reading Sony Vaio Revived: How Does One Start?
Category Archives: skills
Apollo-era PCB Reverse Engineering to KiCad
Earlier this year [Skyhawkson] got ahold of a Apollo-era printed circuit board which he believes was used in a NASA test stand. He took high quality photos of both sides …read more Continue reading Apollo-era PCB Reverse Engineering to KiCad
Ubiquitous Successful Bus: Version 3
USB 2 is the USB we all know and love. But about ten years ago, USB got an upgrade: USB 3.0. And it’s a lot faster. It started off ten …read more Continue reading Ubiquitous Successful Bus: Version 3
Red Hat: AI Is the Most In-Demand Skill in the UK for 2024
It has overtaken strategic thinking and the ability to tackle business-level issues. Continue reading Red Hat: AI Is the Most In-Demand Skill in the UK for 2024
Switching Regulators: Mistake Fixing For Dummies
Some time ago, while designing the PCB for the Sony Vaio replacement motherboard, I went on a quest to find a perfect 5 V boost regulator. Requirements are simple – …read more Continue reading Switching Regulators: Mistake Fixing For Dummies
Lithium-Ion Battery Hotswapping, Polarity, Holders
Everyone loves, and should respect, lithium-ion batteries. They pack a ton of power and can make our projects work better. I’ve gathered a number of tips and tricks about using …read more Continue reading Lithium-Ion Battery Hotswapping, Polarity, Holders
Hacker Tactic: Pimp Your Probes
Is your multimeter one of your trusty friends when building up boards, repairing broken gadgets, and reverse-engineering proprietary ones? Is it accompanied by a logic analyzer or an oscilloscope at …read more Continue reading Hacker Tactic: Pimp Your Probes
Laser Cutters: Where’s the Point?
It is funny how when you first start doing something, you have so many misconceptions that you have to discard. When you look back on it, it always seems like …read more Continue reading Laser Cutters: Where’s the Point?
I2C For Hackers: The Basics
You only really need two data wires to transfer a ton of data. Standards like UART, USB2, I2C, SPI, PS/2, CAN, RS232, SWD (an interface to program MCUs), RS485, DMX, …read more Continue reading I2C For Hackers: The Basics
Secrets of the Old Digital Design Titans
Designing combinatorial digital circuits seems like it should be easy. After all, you can do everything you want with just AND, OR, and NOT gates. Bonus points if you have …read more Continue reading Secrets of the Old Digital Design Titans