Tektronix must have been quite a place to work back in the 1980s. The company offered a bewildering selection of test equipment, and while the digital age was creeping in, much of their gear was still firmly rooted in the analog world. And some of the engineering tricks the Tek wizards pulled off are still […]
Ever pried apart an LCD? If so, you’ve likely stumbled at the unassuming zebra strip — the pliable connector that makes bridging PCB pads to glass traces look effortless. [Chuck] recently set out to test if he could hack together his own zebra strip using conductive TPU and a 3D printer. [Chuck] started by printing […]
We have all seen optimistic claims for electronic products which fail to match the reality, and [Electronic Wizard] is following one up in a recent video. Can a relatively small IGBT really switch 200 A as claimed by a dubious seller? Off to the datasheet to find out! The device in question is from Toshiba, […]
In today’s “futuristic tech you can get for $5”, [RealCorebb] shows us a gesture sensor, one of the sci-fi kind. He was doing a desktop clock build, and wanted to add gesture control to it – without any holes that a typical optical sensor needs. After some searching, he’s found Microchip’s MGC3130, a gesture sensing […]
[Kelly Coffield] makes intake manifolds for old Ford throttle bodies for fun, demonstrating an excellent technique for making such things in the small shop. The mould patterns are CNC machined from a solid polystyrene block, with all the necessary gates to feed the aluminium into the mould. The principle is to introduce aluminium from a […]
Normally, when you want a low DC voltage from the AC line, you think about using a transformer of some kind. [RCD66] noticed that an AC monitor meter must have some sort of power supply but had no transformers in sight. That led to an exploration of how those work and how you can use […]
Fair warning: watching this hybrid manufacturing method for gear teeth may result in an uncontrollable urge to buy a fiber laser cutter. Hackaday isn’t responsible for any financial difficulties that may result. With that out of the way, this is an interesting look into how traditional machining and desktop manufacturing methods can combine to make […]
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” […]