The Tiny Tapeout custom ASIC project has been around for a while now, and has passed through several iterations of its production. On each Tiny Tapeout chip are multiple designs, each representing an individual project, and in use the chip is configured to present that project to its pins. Given enough Tiny Tapeout chips it […]
Interesting parts make for interesting projects, and this nifty precision voltage reference has some pretty cool parts, not to mention an interesting test jig. The heart of [Gaurav Singh]’s voltage reference is an ADR1399, precision shunt reference from Analog Devices. The datasheet makes for pretty good reading and reveals that there’s a lot going on […]
Update: The USPS has now resumed acceptance of inbound packages from China. According to the updated Service Alert, they are currently working with Customs and Border Protection to “implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs.’ Some troubling news hit overnight as the United States Post Office announced via a terse “Service Alert” […]
Some troubling news hit overnight as the United States Post Office announced via a terse “Service Alert” that they would suspend acceptance of inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong Posts, effective immediately. The Alert calls it a temporary suspension, but gives no timeline on when service will be restored. While details are still coming […]
The USS Cod is a Gato-class submarine that saw combat in the Second World War and today operates as a museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio. While many other surviving WWII-era subs were cut into pieces or otherwise modified for public display, Cod is notable for being intact and still in her wartime configuration. It’s considered […]
How any string instrument sounds depends on hundreds of factors; even the tiniest details matter. Seemingly inconsequential things like whether the tree that the wood came from grew on the north slope or south slope of a particular valley make a difference, at least to the trained ear. Add electronics into the mix, as with […]
You can work with a part for many decades, and still learn something new about it. At least we can, and we don’t mind admitting it. Take film capacitors — we all know they aren’t a polarized part like an electrolytic capacitor is, but as [TheDannVal] points out, that doesn’t mean both their leads are […]
The ESP32 series of microcontrollers have been with us for quite a few years now, providing a powerful processor and wireless connectivity for not a huge outlay. We’ve seen a bunch of versions over the years with both Tensilica and RISC-V cores, but so far the ones with radios have all only serviced 2.4 GHz […]
With so much data being thrown at our eyeballs these days, it’s worryingly easy for the actually important stuff to slip by occasionally. So when [Liam Jackson] wanted a way to visualize the number of test failures popping up in the continuous integration system at work, he went with a novel but effective solution — […]
The humble piezo disc buzzer is much more than something that makes tinny beeps in retro electronic equipment, it can also be used as a sensor. Tapping a piezo buzzer gives an interesting waveform, with a voltage spike followed by an envelope, and then a negative rebound voltage. It’s something [Igor Brichkov] is using, to […]